


별빛에 물들어 coloured by starlight

by insaneli



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Fluff, I'll update the tags as I go, Implied homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Office AU, Swearing, a lot of platonic love - Freeform, implied self harm, implied suicide, lapslock, slow burn(?)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-08-07 07:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16404029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/insaneli/pseuds/insaneli
Summary: all kim doyoung wants is to earn big bucks, hang out with his cheesy best friends and make his parents proud. jung jaehyun's just collateral, or so he thought.also : doyoung struggles with finding a job, and when he actually does get one, a whole shitstorm is brewed.[title : city 127]





	1. angel ; 天使

**Author's Note:**

> it's my first go at a chaptered fic woohoo!! my writing style is a little different here than what it usually is in my other fics, so it might sound awkward asfuck but oh well :/ 
> 
> this chapter is honestly not much and the whole story will most likely be slow burn(?) but who knows hehe
> 
> ages : non-canonical 
> 
> taeil = 25  
> yuta, taeyong, johnny = 24  
> doyoung, jaehyun, sicheng = 23  
> jungwoo = 22  
> mark = 20  
> donghyuck = 19

kim doyoung is a good person, he really is. he helps mrs. kim - the elderly woman down the street - to cross the road, he gives his sandwich to the frowny newspaper vendor occasionally and he tries to volunteer at the nearby children’s home every now and then. he’s always had a heart of gold, trying to help everyone the best he can.

but bad things happen to good people

and that’s what doyoung thinks as he finds himself getting fired after a whooping record of five days working at universe café. he had been doing such a great job, serving customers with their orders, reacting quickly to their requests and _trying_ not to break anything in his vicinity. which is why he doesn’t stand why he has to hand over the worker’s apron (which he was getting quite fond of, despite the horrendous flower patterns) back to the diner owner, kim jongin.

“you’re a nice guy, doyoung. but kyungsoo back at the kitchens doesn’t exactly appreciate you breaking every plate and glass that you have in your hands. not to mention customers are now afraid to come in ‘cause they think you’re a serial killer with that expression on your face,” jongin says, but not with a kind smile. “i’m sure you’ll find another place to work, doyoung.”

“thanks, hyung. help me apologise to kyungsoo hyung? please?” doyoung sighs.

jongin nods with another small smile on his face. he tells doyoung he’s welcome to the diner anytime to have a cup of coffee, just not to work. the elder hands him a box of the diner’s best muffins and bids him goodbye with a wave of his hand.

aw, jongin hyung’s nice. doyoung would miss him.

* * *

“you’re telling that you just got fired from a job you just got _five days ago_ because of your clumsy tendencies and resting bitch face? holy fuck, doyoung,” taeyong chuckles at his best friend’s predicament as he throws another plus four card.

doyoung can only sigh as he takes another four cards from the draw pile, saying, “alright, laugh at me all you want. here i was, expecting a little emotional comfort from my two best friends,” he plops to the floor dramatically, eliciting eye rolls from both taeyong and yuta. 

“you know we love you, do. and we know you’ll be fine. you’ll find another job in no time,” yuta ruffles doyoung’s hair and tries to comfort him.

“i know, i know. i just wanna find a stable job y’know? it sucks that gongmyung hyung is already out there being a lawyer, helping people. i just wanna make mom and dad feel proud, for once.”

“you already know your parents, you do. they understand. and you _know_ that they’re not ashamed of you.”

“i do know that. it’s just, i would like to make them not worry about my future so much.”

“you’ll be alright, doyoung. have faith,” taeyong smiles at his worrying best friend and abandons the card game, opting to cuddle with yuta instead. 

doyoung tries to smiles back, but a wave of worry flips his stomach. he fidgets with the hem of his shirt and cards his fingers through his hair. yuta notices this, and tries to reassure him. “look, i’ll have a photoshoot gig tomorrow. i can ask around the client’s company for any vacancies, alright?” yuta asks doyoung.

doyoung’s eyes instantly light up at yuta’s promise and he flashes a gummy smile at him. yuta and taeyong chuckle at their best friend’s enthusiasm. “thank you, thank you! i knew i could trust you, even after you almost broke taeyong’s heart two years ago and made me want to kill you.”

“one, yes, i was an asshole. two, did you really have to remind me? three, you’re welcome, you little shit,” yuta rolls his eyes as he settles back into taeyong’s arms and his boyfriend pecks him on the cheek.

“disgusting.”

* * *

yuta fiddles with the lens of his camera while waiting for the model to finish his makeup. it’s an important gig for him today, shooting a model from one of korea’s most famous agencies - regular inc. - for a sports brand or something. he reckons it won’t be too tough, since the agency’s models were generally quite good already. 

soon enough, a graceful boy walks into the studio and greets yuta. there’s a slight accent to his words, yuta notes, but his korean is fluent nontheless. the japanese soon learns that the model’s name is sicheng, and he’s all the way from china.

“alright, sicheng. think you could pose for me nicely?” yuta asks jokingly. 

sicheng nods with a soft smile on his face and starts to pose, and yuta immediately starts doing what he does best : capturing every single edge of sicheng’s beauty in seconds. the studio is filled with the countless clicking of yuta’s camera and his shouts of praises as one by one, the photos pop out on the computer. 

“alright. and that was the final shot! you’re amazing, sicheng!” yuta compliments the younger model, chuckling at the sight of the latter’s blush. 

“thanks, yuta-ssi,” sicheng says while unlocking his phone. 

suddenly, yuta remembers his promise to doyoung and scratches his neck. “uh, do you happen to know any job vacancies? my friend’s looking for a job right now and he really needs help,” yuta looks at sicheng imploringly. 

“no, not at the moment at least. but i’ll email you if i do!” sicheng shrugs apologetically. 

yuta thanks him anyway and starts to pack up his equipment. he waves goodbye to sicheng, who’s still texting someone, and loads his countless things into his car. he can’t wait to drive home and see taeyong again. he still has no job prospects to deliver to doyoung though, and he feels bad.

* * *

“for the last time, i am _not_ going to invest in that shit company! i do not want my own company that my grandfather built up from scratch to lose money over some shoddy company that is barely stable!” jung jaehyun slams his hand down on the tempered glass desk while shouting into the phone. 

“but, jaehyun-ssi we beli-” 

“no, i said fucking no. now stop trying to convince me or the next thing you know is that your ass is gonna get kicked out to the curb,” jaehyun ends the fustrating conversation by slamming down the receiver. 

he sighs as he threads his fingers through his ash lavender hair, already tired from the argument. why does the board keep on arguing with him? he’s already good at what he’s doing now, and his intuition never fails. ever. 

“you good there, jae?” a head pops in from behind the door, and jaehyun recognises it as seo youngho from the seo banking group, also known as his best friend for a steady nine years now. 

“yea, yea. you know how those old geezers get,” jaehyun chuckles mirthlessly as he tidies up the papers on his desk. he checks his phone for updates, sighing when two clients are requesting for meetings again. guess he’ll have to sort out his schedule tonight and pray that he gets enough sleep. 

“y’know, you should really get an assistant. it’s not the first time i’ve said this, i know, but you’ve got way too much on your plate right now to deal with alone. think about it, jae,” youngho cocks an eyebrow at jaehyun. 

jaehyun just sighs and plops himself on the couch next to his desk. he closes his eyes for a bit, contemplating over what youngho said. he’s right, jaehyun begrudgingly agrees. he’s gotten so much busier with upcoming fundraisers and meetings, maybe an assistant could be some help. it’ll be easier to sort out his schedule anyways. 

“fine. i’ll ask HR to put out some notices,” jaehyun says, rolling his eyes when youngho fist pumps the air. 

“what notices?” another familiar person steps into the room. it’s another one of jaehyun’s best friends, dong sicheng. he’s known sicheng ever since childhood, and they’ve been through thick and thin over and over again. 

sicheng’s face is still stained with makeup, but the chinese still looks as adorable as he is. his hair is dolled up and pushed back to show his forehead, and jaehyun understands why his best friend managed to snag the nation’s heart with just a shy smile at the airport. 

“notices for an assistant. jae finally woke up,” youngho waves around his arms to emphasise his point, making jaehyun want to kick him out from the office. 

sicheng wolf-whistles at this, clapping sarcastically and slowly for his best friend. “congrats, jae. you’ve finally grown brain cells and made good decisions!” he teases. 

jaehyun only groans and throws a pillow at his two friends, missing them by inches. sicheng just chuckles at this while youngho acts frightened at the offending pillow. jaehyun seriously wonders why he’s still friends with them.

* * *

“you’re back! doyoung’s back at the kitchen,” taeyong greets yuta with a peck on the latter’s lips and a hug. 

yuta tugs his boyfriend’s hand as they walk into the kitchen, where doyoung is making his signature sweet potato wedges. the sight of it reminds yuta of their college days, making him reminiscence for a while about how so many memories were made in that cramped dorm room, both good and bad.

“how was the shoot today?” doyoung asks as he slides the plate onto the counter towards yuta. 

“it was good. sicheng’s an amazing model,” yuta says while tucking into the snack, flashing doyoung a thumbs-up at the delicious treat. 

“sicheng? as in dong sicheng? oh, he’s new at the company. he’s so adorable, you should have seen how much taeil hyung was babying him on the first day he came in,” taeyong giggles as he remembers the actions of his manager towards the younger chinese boy, all clingy and loving. 

yuta and doyoung laugh at this, knowing how attached taeil gets to new models, especially the cute ones. they haven’t seen taeil in a while, maybe he can come over for dinner, doyoung thinks. 

“any job chances?” doyoung asks yuta with furrowed eyebrows. 

“im sorry, doie, but sicheng said he would ema-” yuta says before getting interrupted by a ping! from his phone. “hold on, just a sec.” 

he unlocks his phone, confused at why someone is contacting him at night. an email notification appears at the top of his phone screen and he feels his heart stop beating for a single millisecond. fingers quivering, he taps on it, eyes widening further when the sender is sicheng. he already knows what it is, and he excitedly shoves his phone into doyoung’s face, startling the latter. 

“huh? why are you showing me this?” doyoung looks from yuta’s phone to him questioningly, not getting the point. yuta slaps his forehead and gestures to the device, mouthing _sicheng_ and _job_.

doyoung figures out what he’s trying to say, and he covers his mouth with the palm of his hand. hand shaking, he taps on the icon and exhales loudly. 

_yuta-ssi, it’s sicheng here! i just found out there’s a brand new job opening at my friend’s company. it’s neo culture technology corp., the one that makes games and stuff. anyways, the ceo, jung jaehyun’s looking for an assistant to help him and stuff. i think maybe your friend could try? jiayou!_

doyoung finishes reading the email the same the couple finally understands it. they smile at doyoung widely, happy to see the hopeless eyes of their best friend become lighted up again with giddiness and hope. 

“should i apply?” doyoung bounces on the balls of his feet repeatedly, excitement oozing out his being. 

“of course!” taeyong exclaims, “you’d be stupid not to!”

yuta only smiles at his boyfriend’s words and his best friend’s happiness. he feels accomplished, finally managing to repay doyoung for everything the latter has done for him, including giving love advice, letting him copy off his homework, doing the laundry and all that. doyoung’s one of the people he loves the most and it was painful for him to see his best friend struggle for so long. 

_doyoung-ah, you’ll be alright. tae and i will make sure you’ll never be too unhappy again._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter!](http://twitter.com/yukhords)   
>  [curiouscat!](http://curiouscat.me/yukhords)


	2. dreaming ; 做梦

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> d-day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was slightly rushed and i'm sorry for the italics overuse up ahead aslksjd

now, doyoung isn’t usually one for theatrics and dramatic gestures, but desperate times call for desperate measures, and that’s exactly why he finds himself flopping onto taeyong and yuta’s shared bed, pleading taeyong to help him. 

taeyong, who was innocently delving through a manga, startles as his best friend tugs on his sleeve, eyes glimmering as he dramatically pleads, “oh, sweet taeyong, sweet beautiful taeyong, would you _please_ help me prepare for the interview? pretty please?”

“who are you and what have you done to my best friend? my stubborn, not-willing-to-get-help best friend?” taeyong teases the other while cocking one eyebrow at him. 

“god, fuck you, taeyong. i’m so bloody stressed about this interview that i haven’t even called jeno to tell him.” 

taeyong immediately puts down his manga at this, eyes widening as he incredulously asks, “you haven’t told jeno?!” 

doyoung loosens his hold on taeyong’s shirt sleeve and nods, “nope. i’ve been so caught up in stressing out about it that i haven’t had the chance.” 

taeyong knows doyoung is generally a loving guy, always wearing his heart on his sleeve and always trying to help others, but when doyoung is with lee jeno, a younger friend from back home at the states, it’s a whole new story. doyoung is like a mother with jeno, asking him whether he has eaten or not, giving him small gifts whenever they have a road trip, checking up on the younger every single day without fail. it’s cute, it really is. doyoung’s eyes light up with happiness when he sees the crescent-eyed boy, and his usually sharp glare turns into a loving gaze when it lands on the younger. 

so, it’s a no-brainer why taeyong is so surprised that doyoung hasn’t told jeno. doyoung tells the jeno about almost everything in his life, and vice versa. jeno’s first crush, jeno’s first kiss, jeno’s graduation, you name it, and doyoung has been beside him throughout every step of the way (not literally, of course.) 

“alright, i’ll help you. it’s not everyday my best friend comes asking me for help,” taeyong says as he pokes doyoung’s cheeks, making the latter swat his hand away. 

taeyong reaches over to grab his macbook, which is littered with tons of stickers, and types ‘jung jaehyun’ into the search bar. “maybe we can see what you’re getting into,” he explains when doyoung looks at him, confused.

doyoung just nods and rests his chin on taeyong’s shoulder to have a better look at the screen. 

_holy shit._

turns out, jung jaehyun isn’t some ordinary hotshot businessman. he’s the second son to take over neo culture technology corp., and the most successful heir so far. the company’s stocks have skyrocketed ever since he took over, and his net worth is probably worth more than doyoung’s entire neighbourhood’s possessions combined. multiple stock photos of the twenty-three year old pop up, all of them with him having the same neutral face, just from different angles. 

taeyong clicks on the ‘news’ section, and both boys gasp simultaneously at the headlines written. 

**jung jaehyun scores again as nct corp’s stock rise further than ever!**

**nct corp. shows a promising future as cherry bomb hits hundred million downloads worldwide**

** gaming industry taken over by neo culture technology corporation by storm **

doyoung is rendered speechless as taeyong continues to scroll past the dramatic headlines. suddenly, he lands on a particular blog, eyebrows furrowing as he reads the title.

“ _jung jaehyun’s not-so-shiny personality_ ,” the pink-haired boys reads as he clicks into it. 

_ahh, an anon reported to a media outlet that they got fired from jung jaehyun’s company for being ten minutes late to work two days in a row. when they tried to explain it was a family issue, hr told them his decisions were final. anon also said that the nation’s chaebol was always grumpy and often didn’t make compromises during staff meetings. looks like good looks doesn’t equal good personality ㅋㅋㅋ_

_[+135, -85] guess his perfect image is shattered now ~~_

_[+184, -37] my friend works at his company…..she says he’s not like that….please guys don’t simply believe these rumours….._

_[+36, -54] stupid fangirls ㅋㅋㅋ can’t believe that jung jaehyun is not perfect cus of his face….young girls these days……._

_[+93, -67] guys...it’s probably a troll….didn’t he just do charity work for children...it’s probably just a hater…._

“oh god, what am i getting myself into?” doyoung sighs as taeyong closes the laptop shut, “what if he’s a total asshole and bullies his staff into doing weird things like-” 

“doyoung, listen to me. calm down. i’m pretty sure jaehyun isn’t that bad of a person, if he was, then sweet sicheng wouldn’t be friends with him, right?” taeyong comforts him as he rubs small circles on the other’s back. 

doyoung exhales loudly, saying, “you’re right. but what i-”

“shhhh, no ‘what if’s. what we’re gonna do now is prep you for possible questions and how to answer them. okay?” 

“fine, fine. but i’m pretty sure i won’t get it, with him being such a hotshot and all. i don’t even know what an assistant does!” doyoung whines as he throws his hands up into the air. 

taeyong chuckles as he looks at the other’s desperate face, and pulls up another word document on his macbook. “shush, no more complaining. we’re gonna get you that job, or i’m not regular inc’s hottest model to date.” 

doyoung cracks a smile.

* * *

jaehyun sighs as he flips through another series of contracts set on his desk, reading through each clause before signing. he glares at the accounting reports at the corner of his desk that have been there since this morning. it’s already 5:30pm, and he hasn’t had the time to read through them. his entire day was packed with meetings with the board, lunch with potential clients, a meet-up with a lawyer to discuss said contracts and so on. to add on that, he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in a while and that just fuels to his grumpiness.

a knock at his door startles him, but he quickly regains his composure to ask, “who is it?” 

a muffled voice chuckles at his question, but soon sobers up to say, “so busy that you can’t even tell it’s your little brother?” 

jaehyun finally cracks a grin at that, and yells at mark to come in. mark shuts the door behind him and flops down on the chair in front of his desk. “contracts huh? with who this time?” he gestures to the papers. 

“pristin enterprises. i had a meeting with nayoung earlier. she’s quite willing to hand over the company, surprisingly,” jaehyun furrows his eyebrows at that.

“didn’t she had a dating scandal with park siyeon? their company’s stocks plummeted for a bit and she was kicked out of her household for being ‘a disgrace’. homophobic folks,” mark rolls his eyes as he babbles on. 

“oh damn, that’s too bad.”

“i know right, hyung. anyways, are you attending the press conference for neo city?” 

“you mean, am i willing to take the one chance of seeing my brother _finally_ starting his own company?” jaehyun smiles. 

mark laughs at this, “alright, i’ll take that as a yes, then. donghyuck’s gonna come too.” 

jaehyun smiles fondly at the mention of the boy that his little brother has been dating for two years now. lee donghyuck has always been a feisty but kind boy, and he’s famous in the fashion industry for his stunning makeup artist, helping even a-listers for award shows. jaehyun has always liked him, never failing to peck the other on the cheek when they meet. 

the two brothers talk for a while more, until another knock at the door interrupts them. the door swivels open, and seulgi from hr peeks her head in, waving at mark. “here’s the profiles of the applicants for the job,” she says as mark walks over to take the files from her hand. 

“thanks, noona,” jaehyun thanks her with a mock salute. seulgi just rolls her eyes and shuts the door behind her. 

mark puts the files on jaehyun’s desk. “seems like you’ve got another job to do tonight. see you tomorrow?” he says as he grabs his jacket. 

jaehyun nods, saying, “tomorrow. get home safe!” 

mark waves at him as he leaves, the door clicking as it shuts. jaehyun groans again, already thinking about the work he has to finish by today. 

_even more the reason for a assistant_ , he thinks.

jaehyun sits up straight again and clicks his pen as he flips open the file of candidates.

* * *

doyoung sighs as he runs his fingers through his hair, ruining the perfect hairstyle that yuta helped him set. he fiddles with his collar, wincing as the stiff material sticks into his neck uncomfortably. the sooner he can get over this interview, the faster he can get this goddamn suit off him. 

he yells a goodbye to taeyong and yuta, who are cuddling in the living room. they shout a cheery ‘good luck!’, to which doyoung smiles. he’s grateful that he has such supportive friends. taeyong has helped him a lot, with planning his outfit, preparing him for interview questions and so much more that frankly, he has already forgotten. yuta was also with him every step of the way, reassuring him that _it’s gonna be okay_ and he’s going to be fine. 

soon, doyoung finally arrives at the neo culture technology corporation headquarters. he clenches and unclenches his fist, inhaling a deep breath before finally stepping through the glass doors of the high-rise building and inhaling the faint scent of the lavender air freshener. the cool air of the air conditioners come in contact with his clammy hands, making him shiver and his nerves jittery. he can’t believe he’s actually standing in the lobby of nct corp., one of asia’s biggest conglomerates, and he’s going to be interviewed _for a job_. 

the receptionist at the counter- _seungwan_ \- is friendly enough as she greets him with a big smile and asks him for his name. “kim doyoung. i’m here for the job interview?” he tries not to add the questioning lilt at the end of his sentence, but it slips out and he winces. 

seungwan’s smiles grows even wider as she shuffles around, handing him a book to fill out his details. he gets a card with a lanyard in return for giving back the book after filling it out and he thanks her with a smile of his own as he makes his way to the twentieth floor, as per seungwan’s instructions. 

the elevator music calms him down a little and he sneaks a peek at the scenery outside the glass doors of the container. the cars beneath him become smaller and smaller as he goes up and he can even spot the convenience store near his house. the doors open with a _ding!_ and he steps out. 

he’s met with a sight of people already sitting down on plush chairs, and all of them swivel their heads to look at him. a particular sharp-eyed woman gives him a piercing stare, before deciding he isn’t worth the attention and going back to looking at her phone. all of them are clad in crisp suits and blouses, hair styled perfectly. doyoung suddenly feels underdressed in his six-year-old suit (from his high school days) and he sends a silent apology to yuta for ruining his hair. 

a tall woman with bangs walks towards him, clipboard in tow. she glances at his name tag, and asks, “kim doyoung? here for the job interview?”

doyoung nods hurriedly, before cringing internally and saying, “yes, kim doyoung. i’m here for the interview.” 

the woman smiles at him and sticks out a perfectly manicured hand at him. “kang seulgi, head of human resources here. i make sure no one gets bullied and murdered by the boss or any other worker. take a seat, please. your name will be called when the boss decides,” she introduces herself and explains the procedure. 

doyoung nods feebly this time, before realising a point. “wait, the boss is going to interview us? as in, jung jaehyun himself?” he asks, eyes widening. 

seulgi nods, a giggle nearly escaping her lips as she takes in doyoung’s surprised expression. “yes, jung jaehyun himself.”

he nods dumbly at that, and thanks seulgi for her time. there’s an empty seat next to a potted plant and he shuffles towards it. another neatly dressed guy is seated next to him, and he’s currently rifling through a bunch of papers with shaking hands. 

“nervous?” doyoung asks timidly as he gestures towards the other’s shaking hands. 

the guy stops shivering for a while, and turns to look at doyoung. “y-yea,” he manages to stammer out. 

“it’s okay, i’m really nervous too! this is already my nth time at a job interview, there’s literally no hope for me now,” he says, letting out a small mirthless chuckle. 

“j-job interview?” 

“yea, job interview? we’re all here for the interview to be the boss’ assistant or something.” 

“i’m not h-here for a j-job interv-view.” 

doyoung cocks his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. the guy straightens up and pulls out a tag from his pocket. “i already work here,” he explains. 

“oh,” doyoung feels incredibly dumb as the other smiles feebly at him. 

“i’m just really nervous about seeing him. i’m gonna hand in the reports to him by myself today, oh god,” the guy, _sehun_ , says. 

“why?” 

“the boss isn’t um, the friendliest of people. he glares at people a lot, especially us workers and it’s really hard to type properly when someone is looking at you like you just killed their grandmother. plus, he’s fucking scary during staff meetings, questions here and there, and that intimidating enquiring tone like he knows you haven’t prepared enough. oh god, it’s a nightmare to work when he’s around, but other than that, this company is truly one of the best to work in.” 

doyoung’s jaw has well dropped to the floor at the end of sehun’s little rant, and his nerves are back full force. the japchae that he ate earlier this morning is threatening to claw its way back up through his mouth and onto the posh carpet that probably costs more than doyoung’s house. he mutters a quiet curse at himself for being such a coward, and tells himself to just _man the fu-_

“kim doyoung,” seulgi calls out, “it’s your turn.” 

_oh sweet lord, please don’t make me shit my pants._

doyoung lifts his head up from his palms and looks around the room. while he was having his tiny little breakdown next to the potted plant, seats around him were already emptying. he stands up from the plush chair and bids sehun a little nod. seulgi gestures at him to follow her, and they enter the elevator. 

as the metal doors shut, seulgi turns to doyoung and says, “now, don’t be too scared. sajang-nim is intimidating, that’s true, but don’t let him rattle your nerves. there’s only been ten people out of twenty-nine who cried coming out of his office today, so that means he’s in a good mood!”

doyoung really wants to jump out of this elevator into incoming traffic right now.

* * *

they reach the floor of jaehyun’s office soon enough, and seulgi wishes him a merry _good luck!_ before retreating back downstairs. 

doyoung turns to the one-way mirrored doors that lead to jung jaehyun’s office, and exhales shakily. he’s going to do it, now or never. 

he knocks on the door sharply twice, before wincing and waiting for someone to reply. 

“come in,” a delicious baritone voice fills doyoung’s ears, surprising him. he thought the chaebol heir’s voice would be a bit more, well, rough, not this rich, deep voice that he hears. 

shaking his head, he regains his composure and pushes the door handle, gasping a little when he sees the interior of the office. plush sofas at one corner, a football table at the other, but what really surprises him is the amount of modern fan art that adorn the walls of his office. he recognises a digital painting of harry potter and his patronus, an oil painting of percy jackson fighting the minotaur and so much more. 

“sit down,” the same voice orders him.

head ducked, he walks towards a chair placed right in front of jung jaehyun’s desk. a bobblehead of harry potter stares back at him, and he feels himself calm down slightly at the familiar surroundings of modern book references. 

“stop ducking your head. look at me,” jung jaehyun orders, startling doyoung. slowly, he lifts his head up and focuses on the twenty-three year old in front of him. 

_holy shit, michelangelo might have well crafted this gorgeous face himself._

jung jaehyun is well, hot as fuck. his cold eyes pierce through everything in sight, mouth downturned in a little frown, and his bottom lip is jutted out a little, making doyoung suck in a deep breath. he watches jaehyun’s hands as they flip through a file, veins slightly popping out and a rolex glimmers at him as the lighting hits the glass surface. his jaw looks like it could cut diamonds and slice salmon with no issue.

jaehyun raises an eyebrow at him- _holy shit, that’s hot_ -and asks, “what did you just say?” 

doyoung realises that he said his little gay thoughts out loud and slaps himself on the forehead, before quickly retracting his hand and folding them on his lap. “nothing, nothing!” he blabbers out. 

jaehyun raises both eyebrows at that and goes back to looking at doyoung’s profile. 

_name : kim doyoung_

_d.o.b. : 02.01.1996_

_birthplace : united states of america_

_ethnicity : korean-american_

_nationality : korean_

“you’re from america?” jaehyun peers at the information. 

“yes. i’m originally from brooklyn, new york, but my parents moved me here five years ago because of work,” doyoung explains, trying to avoid stuttering.

“and you speak fluent english? how’s your korean?” 

“yes, my english is considerably fluent, given the fact that i grew up in the states. my korean is relatively well too, since i spoke korean with my relatives, even back in america.” 

jaehyun hums at doyoung’s answer, and writes something down at the corner of the paper. his eyes continue to flit pass his profile and stops at one particular line. 

“it says here that you have zero professional job experience? at all?” jaehyun asks, a hint of malice seeping into his tone. 

_oh shit._

“n-no, i don’t have any professional job experiences. i haven’t had time these past few years to apply for a qualified job, and to actually stick to it,” doyoung replies feebly, fiddling with a stray thread at the hem of his shirt.

“and you decided to apply for a assistant position directly under the ceo of one of asia’s biggest conglomerates with zero experience of how it’s going to be.”

“jae-” 

“look, i’ll lay this out for you. this isn’t a joke okay? now you can keep your things and whatnot and go back to where your friends are and laugh at this idea of a sick joke,” jaehyun says while rolling his eyes and sliding doyoung’s profile back into the file. 

“n-no, you’ve got this whole thing wrong!” doyoung pleads with a hint of desperation. 

“kim doyoung. my great-grandfather built this company from scratch with his own bare hands. my father has taught me everything i need to know on how to run this business, and i’m not going to waste my time on dealing with some guy that thinks this is all a bloody joke.” 

_well, your father certainly didn’t teach you good manners, did he?_

“excuse me?” jaehyun’s voice turns steely.

doyoung widens his eyes, realising that he said that out loud once again. he curses himself for letting that slip out. he looks into jaehyun’s eyes, and is taken aback at the steeliness behind them, the look of coldness as he sneers at doyoung. jung jaehyun is obviously looking down on him right now, arms crossed and that knowing look of underestimation directed at him. something hot sparks within doyoung, making him feel angry and fustrated. before he can stop himself, he says, clear and loud, 

“i said, your father certainly didn’t teach you good manners and he obviously raised you to become some sort of stuck-up know-it-all brat that looks down on someone with remotely less privilege than you, huh.” 

_god job, doyoung! now you’ve fucked up every chance of you getting a job, but hey, at least you’ve got your pride in check!_

jaehyun’s eyes suddenly switches to something even more sinister, and a smirk climbs a way to his lips. he clasps his hands together, and leans forward, saying, “is that really a nice thing to say to a man that can ruin your entire life with just a snap of his fingers?” without any hint of mirth but pure venom. 

“ruin all my life you want, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a stuck-up arse,” doyoung snaps back with a roll of his eyes. 

jaehyun scoffs at this, and leans back into his chair. he looks at doyoung’s profile again, and his eyes land on another section.

“you have a masters in accounting and business?” the chaebol heir asks incredulously. 

“why yes, i do. is that so hard to believe?” doyoung answers while raising an eyebrow at him. 

“then why are you here, applying for a job that you’re overqualified for?” 

“personal reasons,” is doyoung’s short, curt answer. 

jaehyun nods at that, and closes the file again. “alright. thank you for your time, kim doyoung. i’ll ask my head of human resources to give you feedback on whether you’ve gotten the job or not by tomorrow. also, thank you for telling me that i’m a snobbish arse who looks down on people. really needed that,” he stands up to shake doyoung’s hand, a cold smile resting on his face. 

“it’s my pleasure, sir.” doyoung snipes back and ignores the way jaehyun’s expression darkens at his retort. 

doyoung shuts the office door behind him with a click and heads down to the lobby. he waves seungwan goodbye, the latter smiling back, and boards the bus back to his apartment.

* * *

when he enters the safe space that he calls home, doyoung immediately collapses on the sofa and cradles his face in his hands. he not only screwed up his chances at a high-paying job, but also managed to insult the man behind the world’s most successful gaming company. safe to say, he definitely isn’t getting that position. 

“doyoung, you’re back! how was the int-oh dear, are you alright?” taeyong runs from the kitchen towards him, concerned for the state of his best friend. 

doyoung shakes his head rapidly and groans. 

“oh, baby. mind telling me what happened?” taeyong worriedly asks as he hugs doyoung. 

doyoung exhales a deep breath and removes his hands from his face, turning to taeyong and explaining what went down in jaehyun’s office. 

at the end of doyoung’s story, taeyong’s face is pale white, all colour drained from it. he looks absolutely shell-shocked as he stares at doyoung. 

“i know, i know. i’m the biggest idiot ever!” doyoung whines exasperatedly. 

suddenly, taeyong breaks into a big smile and smacks a loud kiss on doyoung’s cheek. “i’m so proud of you! i knew i raised you to become a strong bitch, that arse had it coming for him. good job, do!” he exclaims. 

doyoung looks at him, face puzzled and thoughts scrambled. “but, i just insulted the most successful businessman in forbes’ thirty under thirty! and you’re telling me i did the right thing?” he asks the pink-haired boy. 

“if he’s anything like you said, he deserves it! that ass deserved every insult thrown his way. knew your smart mouth came in handy!” taeyong laughs.

doyoung finally cracks a smile at that and hugs taeyong back, saying, “you should have seen his face! it was so surprised!”

the two keep on giggling, with doyoung retelling the story and taeyong egging him on. they’re a pile of laughter and joy when yuta finds them home from work. “i knew you were cheating on me with him!” yuta cries out petulantly with a pout. 

taeyong laughs and untangles himself from doyoung, walking over to yuta to kiss him on the lips. doyoung fakes a retching noise when yuta kisses the other back and intertwines their fingers. the japanese holds out a bag of chinese takeout to doyoung cheekily, to which the latter grabs and rushes into the kitchen. 

once all three of them huddled in the living room, gong pao chicken in hand, doyoung tells yuta of the disastrous interview, and the japanese nearly snorts a chunk of the chicken out. “i knew i could count on you to teach him a lesson!” yuta says gleefully, and the trio is sent into another fit of chuckles and giggles. 

when doyoung sobers up, he sighs and stabs the innocent chicken, and moans, “but now, i’m jobless again!” 

“it’s alright! you can help me down at the studio for now since i have so many projects coming soon. an extra hand would help,” yuta reassures the other. 

doyoung nods at the offer and thanks yuta. soon, they finish up their dinner and taeyong and yuta tell doyoung that they’re going out for a date, to which the latter pouts but bids them goodbye with a ‘don’t do anything i wouldn’t do!’ 

when the apartment door shuts in front of doyoung’s eyes, he shuffles to his own bedroom and prepares to sleep. he feels so exhausted, from nerves earlier in the day, the interview itself and the little celebration with his best friends. all he wants is a good night’s sleep and maybe a pile of pancakes for breakfast tomorrow.

* * *

_ting!_

doyoung groggily pushes himself up from his bed and blindly pats around for his phone. when his fingers finally rest on a slim device, he grabs his phone and winces when the harsh bright lights his eyes. who on earth would message him this early?

an email notification appears on his lockscreen and he swiftly types in his password to unlock his phone. opening the email app, he rolls his eyes as the words _kang seulgi_ glare back at him through the screen. 

he shrugs as he taps into the email.

* * *

a shrill scream startles taeyong and yuta from their sleep, forcing the cuddling duo to untangle themselves from each other and rush to doyoung’s room where it came from. 

what they find when yuta slams open the door is doyoung’s face gone puce white, phone gripped tightly and eyes wild. his hair is tousled wildly, messier than what bedhead should be and a pillow is evidently thrown to the corner of the bedroom. 

“i got the job,” is all doyoung says before he falls back onto the bed and tumbles down to the floor. 

taeyong turns to yuta and mutters, “told him i _was_ regular inc.’s hottest model.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> blog thingy inspired by @jenuyu !! check out her dreamies chaebol aus they're soso cute!!


	3. touch ; 触觉

_us kims don’t back down. we never do._

doyoung repeats the mantra that has been ingrained into his mind since childhood, thanks to his parents. it’s one piece of advice that doyoung has been holding onto for so many years, as a guidance in life and a small link to his family. it’s what made doyoung so resilient after all these years of job-hunting, so endlessly filled with drive even after faced with utter hopelessness. 

it’s because of these words that doyoung can _finally_ say that he has a job, a real proper one at that. he can’t believe it still, the fact that he managed to land a job as a personal assistant to the ceo of a conglomerate, even after indirectly insulting said ceo’s father. not of that matters of course, not when he can finally see the elated faces of his parents when he tells him, shows them the email through the pixelated screen. something familiar sparks in doyoung’s mother’s eyes, something that he hasn’t seen in a while, _pride_. 

after the video call, he checks the digital clock next to him. _07:02 A.M._ , it blinks at him rapidly. another two hours until his first day at work as a personal assistant. just the thought of that makes him dizzy and light-headed, a wave of happiness coursing in his veins, and a slow smile creeps its way onto his face. 

he cleans up and savours breakfast, a stack of pancakes cooked by taeyong accompanied with a little ‘hwaiting!’ note tucked beneath the plate. another motivating text from yuta lights up his phone, along with a new email from seulgi. 

_just wanted to say good luck to you!_ , the email reads. 

maybe his first day at work won’t be so bad after all.

* * *

the tell tale familiar scent of lavender creeps into his nose again as doyoung pushes through the doors of neo culture technology corporation. seungwan smiles brightly upon recognising him, and he waves back at her. “first day at work, eh?” she teases him. 

“yea, i’m kinda nervous!” doyoung wipes his sweaty palms on his pants. 

seungwan tells him to shrug off his worries, “i’ve looked at your profile, and you’re way over-qualified for this job. you’ll be fine!” 

doyoung can only smile faintly, but the woman’s comforting words do nothing to calm the nausea pooling at the back of his throat. he exhales sharply, before bidding seungwan goodbye and heading his way into the elevator. 

the soft, lofi music in the metal container distracts him a little, and he drums his fingers on the wall of the elevator along with the rhythm as it shoots its way up to the top floor, where jung jaehyun’s office is. he watches as the city before him shrinks as he goes higher and higher, cars turning into little ants and other building looking like building blocks. it’s exhilarating, a view like this so majestic, yet it does nothing to reassure doyoung. it does distract him for a few seconds, and that’s good enough. 

a muffled _ding!_ signals that he has arrived at the designated floor, and he steps out of the elevator after it opens. the familiar glass doors leading to jaehyun’s office stare back at him, as if challenging him to back away and go home to where he’ll feel safer, more guarded. 

doyoung huffs loudly, and he mutters one last _fuck_ before knocking on the doors. he winces as his knuckles hit the hard surface, but a deep “come in” sends him into a moment of deja vu. he pushes open the door. 

jung jaehyun is sitting before him on the sofa, and he gestures at doyoung to sit opposite him. the latter complies, but not before shooting him a wary glance. 

“welcome, kim doyoung. i hope you’ll enjoy your time here as my personal assistant. i look forward to working together,” jaehyun says as a cold smile tug at his mouth ends. 

“it’s my pleasure to be here, sajang-nim. i too, look forward to working with you,” doyoung musters a sickly sweet tone as his eye twitches. 

jaehyun leans forward a little and pushes a black file towards doyoung. the latter takes it into his hands, and flips open the cover. stapled papers loom at him and he realises the title at the top. “a contract?” he muses. 

“yes, a contract. you do have to understand, every job has its limitations and rules, and i need you to be aware of them before anything else. i worked with my lawyer through every single clause in this, so feel free to tell me if there are any-” jaehyun pauses, “- _disagreements_ with the arrangements set.” 

doyoung hums in answer and the sound of him flicking the papers back and forth fill the silence between the two boys. his eyes scan through the text, stopping every now and then at something more significant. he suppresses a gasp when he reaches a certain clause on his salary, and tries his best not to tear up at the number of zeroes present. 

doyoung finally signs his name at the bottom, muttering a soft _thank you_ at jaehyun after handing him the signed papers. jaehyun smirks back at him, but his ice cold glare softens, just by a sliver. doyoung doesn’t notice, of course. 

“okay, now that’s out of the way, i’m going to give you a breakdown of what your basic tasks are,” jaehyun clasps his hands together. 

jaehyun rambles on about doyoung’s duties, stopping occasionally to let him digest the information. doyoung nods after each point explained. after laying everything down, jaehyun reaches behind himself to grab a slim, white box. 

“connections to tech companies are extremely handy, especially in cases like this,” jaehyun opens it and slides out a brand new ipad, to which doyoung gapes at. “this right here, will be yours. you will handle everything work related using this tablet, nothing else. inside, are the apps that i’ve downloaded that might help you get things going. you may set a password to ensure security.” 

doyoung takes over the new tablet, fingers coiling slightly as he touches the metal back. it’s sleek, slim, powerful, and everything doyoung wishes he could buy on his own. “thank you, sajang-nim.” 

jaehyun nods curtly, and stands up. doyoung does the same, grasping the tablet tightly in his hand. the ceo reaches over his desk to grab a suit jacket and car keys. 

“first order of business, attending a press conference.”

* * *

upon arriving at the venue, doyoung starts sweating again. _calm down_ , he tells himself, _it’s just a press conference, where they’ll be a shit ton of cameras and people, nothing much. totally not a big deal._

he follows jaehyun into the building, wincing when the paparazzi start to swarm the young ceo, cameras flashing and lights blinding. under the help of the guards, they enter a smaller, air-conditioned room. a long table filled with microphones decorate the surface, and multiple rows of fold-out chairs are placed opposite it. 

what truly catches doyoung’s eyes is the two boys standing at the corner of the room, one with his head ducked, face cradled into his hands, while the other hugs him, patting his back. 

“mark? you okay?” jaehyun walks towards the duo, voice laced with concern, and doyoung is taken aback by his unusually soft tone. 

the boy looks up from his hands, eyes lighting up when he sees jaehyun in front him. “hyung!” he hugs the latter.

jaehyun chuckles (an actual one at that, doyoung notes) and embraces mark back. “hey, buddy, you okay? why’s your face wet?” he asks again.

“it’s nothing, i’m just really nervous. this is my first official public appearance and i really, really, don’t want to screw this up,” mark rubs the back of his nape. 

“hey, you’ll be fine. i trust you. you’ve worked so hard to make it this far, and you’re gonna knock the press off their feet, believe me. besides, i’ll be watching you too, and donghyuck will be there. we’re here for you, kid,” jaehyun gestures at the other boy while smiling and ruffling mark’s hair.

donghyuck smiles, teeth showing and doyoung is surprised by how the boy’s face just lights up like the sun when he does, eyes crinkling and pure joy dancing in them. he looks positively radiant, and even though doyoung doesn’t know him, he already feels his nerves leave his body. 

that is, until mark looks his way and his eyes narrow. “who’s that?” he nudges jaehyun.

jaehyun turns his head to look at him, as if he forgot he was even there. “oh, that’s doyoung. my new personal assistant. it’s his first day,” he glances at mark for approval.

jaehyun visibly relaxes when the ice in mark’s eyes disappear and cheek replaces it. the younger sibling walks towards doyoung and extends a hand out. “mark jung, younger brother of jung jaehyun and soon-to-be new entrepreneur of neo city. pleased to meet you and i hope you can endure my brother’s childishness,” he introduces himself as a twinkle sparkles in his eyes. 

doyoung smiles at that, “kim doyoung. i’m your brother’s new personal assistant. i’d like to congratulate you on _this_ ,” he gestures his free hand at the room.

“thank you, man. that’s my boyfriend, lee donghyuck, by the way,” the sun-like boy waves at them shyly.

“ten minutes, mark. better get ready,” a new face pops into the room, and doyoung knows it as seo youngho, next in line for the position of manager of seo banking group. it’s astonishing to him that he’s being surrounded by so many successful young people, while most people his age are still struggling to find stable jobs. 

“this the new assistant, jae?” youngho looks at doyoung. 

jaehyun nods. “i’m seo youngho, best friend of jaehyun’s. please try not to slap him whilst working with him,” he laughs while patting doyoung on the back, making the latter stumble slightly at the unexpected force. 

doyoung tries to stammer back a reply, but youngho has already left the room. he feels a bit overwhelmed by the foreign surroundings, not used to such professionalism and grace. “come on, doyoung. let’s sit down,” jaehyun calls him. 

“it’s mark’s first press conference. it’s for his new company, neo city. he’s worked so hard for this moment for so long,” jaehyun says while staring to the front at the company’s logo plastered on the poster.

doyoung nods, “that’s amazing. he’s amazing. what’s the company about?”

“my brother, he’s one of a kind. neo city’s a music label, actually. he plans on signing anyone, as long as they’re willing to work hard. right now, he’s got about five artists under his belt already. they’re just waiting for things to become official to sign contracts.”

the doors open, and the same swarm of journalists flood through the room, if not even more. a cacophony of cameras clicking and muffled whispers fill doyoung’s ears and he recoils a bit. jaehyun notices this and whispers, “try to distract yourself with thinking about other things. it helps take your mind off the now.”

doyoung tries to think about his video call this morning, how his parent’s face lit up, how they seemed so happy. he thinks about his brother’s reaction when he tells him, how he’ll feel so relieved. he also recalls jeno’s excited squealing when he found out, his promises to study hard and maybe, move to korea too. 

a nudge on the elbow snaps him from his trance and he focuses to the front, where mark is finally walking out. the young boy looks completely in his element, calm and worry-free, a contrast from how he was earlier. he looks entirely at ease as he sits down and starts to greet everyone. beside doyoung, donghyuck shuffles quietly to sit down. 

with mark mid-statement, doyoung turns his head to look at the man sitting beside him. the light residue shines on jaehyun’s face, basking him in a white glow. the light enhances his cheekbones, and his eyes, as they attentively watch mark in front, glimmer with affection and something so intimate, _love_ , doyoung knows it. it’s unusual to see the normally hard-gazed ceo look so vulnerable and gentle, different from who doyoung sees when it’s just the two of them. 

after a gruelling q&a session with the reporters, the press conference is finally adjourned. mark’s pr manager, xiumin, shoos the last few persistent journalists away, so mark can finally sigh in relief and plop dramatically across the chairs. “that was so fucking stressful,” he groans.

“you’ll get used to it, buddy. you have to,” jaehyun chuckles at his little brother’s antics.

donghyuck goes over to where mark is and hugs him. “you did great, mark,” he kisses his boyfriend on the lips and forehead, and the other smiles shyly. 

as the love-struck couple gaze at each other, jaehyun just turns to doyoung and shakes his head at them. “let’s head back to the office,” he says and hugs mark goodbye. doyoung just waves at the younger and the latter pats him on the back while saying, “no need to be so awkward, if jaehyun hired you, that means you’re _something_.”

the words linger on doyoung’s mind.

* * *

by the time they’ve reached the office, it’s already noon. the noon slot on jaehyun’s timetable is reserved for lunch hour, so doyoung asks the driver to send them to a chinese restaurant two blocks away that’s a personal favourite of his. jaehyun hums in approval and closes his eyes on the ride there to rest a little.

a few girls here and there recognise jaehyun as he walks through the doors. however, under the sharp glare of his bodyguard, they scurry away and only stare at him from a distance. the owner of the restaurant, mrs. lim, sees doyoung and wipes her hands on her apron to hug him warmly. “ _it’s been ages since i’ve seen you!_ ” she exclaims in her native language.

“ _i know, i’ve been so busy lately. and i got a job!_ ” doyoung exclaims back in accented chinese, but it’s clear enough and mrs. lim grins widely. 

he orders two plates of _char siew fan_ , the restaurant signature, and goes back to where jaehyun is seated. the other is on his phone, typing furiously and eyebrows furrowed in concentration. he huffs loudly when the other person replies and exasperatedly throws his phone onto the table. doyoung pointedly ignores this, and decides to busy himself with his new tablet. he arranges jaehyun’s meetings in the afternoon after and notes down important events like mark’s birthday in his own phone, just in case. he’s well going through sorting a particularly strenuous day for jaehyun when the waitress arrives with their food. 

the two men eat silently with the occasional clatter of silverware and glasses. doyoung finishes first and he goes back to arranging jaehyun’s timetable. a cough makes him look up, “kind of impolite to look at an electronic device when your boss is right in front you, eh?”

doyoung subtly rolls his eyes and locks the ipad, placing it onto his lap. he leans forward and looks at jaehyun in the eye. “what’s there to know about me?” he cocks an eyebrow.

“well, i’m curious how you so daringly insulted me during our interview. not many people have the balls to do that,” jaehyun smirks.

“i can’t stand conceited people. end of story. you seem like a privileged rich kid who got all of daddy’s money since birth and you were looking at it like the scum at the bottom of your shoe that day.” 

“daring of you to say that. honest, i like that,” jaehyun raises his teacup.

“i try my best, sajang-nim,” doyoung smiles mockingly.

* * *

they return to the office shortly. doyoung realises as they walk through the lobby, that there’s no fear in his fellow employees’ eyes, only pure respect and admiration for the ceo. they bow at him, smile softly and say words of greeting when he passes by. 

jaehyun visits the finance department, where it’s mostly serene and the only sound is the pattering of keyboards and the scratching of pencil against paper. the staff stand up to greet jaehyun and he waves a hand and tells them to sit down. doyoung meets kim jungwoo, head of said department, who’s also reserved and quiet, but evidently responsible based on his quick answers to jaehyun’s stream of questions. 

“that’s the jungwoo i know,” jaehyun turns joking and swats jungwoo on the arm. 

“you’re such a fake, hyung. pretending to be intimidating and shit as if i didn’t catch you crying while watching _the notebook_ during uni,” jungwoo shoots back with a smirk.

as jaehyun splutters in indignation, doyoung allows himself to giggle a little. upon hearing him, jungwoo turns to doyoung, “i take it you’re kim doyoung-ssi?” 

“y-yes,” doyoung trips over his words at the sudden attention. 

“pleased to meet you. i’m kim jungwoo, head of the finance department. i’m the only one working here that doesn’t shrink in front of jaehyun-hyung right here,” he shrugs at jaehyun, who just glares at him. 

“kim doyoung, the new personal assistant. i’ll do my best,” doyoung bows his head. 

“aww, hyung, he’s so shy and cute! can you assign him to me instead?” 

“nonsense, jungwoo. god knows you don’t need one anyways,” jaehyun swats jungwoo’s hand off his shoulder, but not without playfulness. 

after that little encounter, it’s back to the schedule down in his tablet. a meeting with the development department, multiple presentations for cherry bomb’s upcoming update, and a another visit to the developing department, no doubt the biggest one yet. taeil, the head developer leads jaehyun around, explaining every single detail about the bug fix issue. their conversation is filled with so much developer jargon that doyoung stops trying to keep up and diverts his attention to observing the staff. 

they finally retreat back to jaehyun’s office. doyoung sighs as he leans back against the beige wall of the office. jaehyun, on the other hand, takes off his suit jacket and rolls up the sleeves of his blouse, settling down on his chair. he fiddles with a pen, before flipping open the one of many files on his desk. 

“here, do a final report on the finance analysis this month, including a complete financial statement. i trust you,” jaehyun hands him a thicker file. 

doyoung opens the file and a wave of nostalgia hits him as he looks at the bills and account statements. it reminds him of the assignments he used to do in university, the countless nights he spent on them, the hard work he poured into them just to obtain good grades. he looks around the room, searching for a place to sit. in the end, he settles on the floor and lays his things on the coffee table. it’s a bit too low for him, but nothing he can’t handle. 

“what are you doing on the floor?” jaehyun suddenly exclaims and hurries towards him. 

“doing my report, what else does it seem like?” doyoung snaps back, surprised by the other’s actions. 

“jesus christ, doyoung. you could have just told me you needed a desk instead of sitting on the floor,” jaehyun pushes back his styled hair, making it unravel a little. 

“why do you care so much? it’s just the floor,” doyoung stubbornly sits there. 

jaehyun exhales loudly, and it’s the first time doyoung has seen the ceo so rattled, moreover over _him_ , a mere assistant. “look, i don’t want other people to think that i’m bullying you or anything,” he groans. 

“of course, it’s about how people perceive you again. it’s about you, only you. you don’t want people to think that oh-so-lovely jung jaehyun is mistreating his workers eh? don’t worry, i’ll pop downstairs to tell seulgi-ssi that you’ve been kind,” doyoung snorts. 

“i have n-” 

“has it never crossed your mind that you can take your ego down a notch and actually care about other people? other people being the ones that weren’t already in your life before. you could have just goddamn lied to me and pretended you actually cared for my tailbone and ass, instead of saying the truth,” doyoung scoffs and stands up. 

“kim doyoung. stay right where you are. _now_ ” jaehyun stops doyoung before the latter can open the door. 

“what? you don’t want me to slam the door, just in case people think you’ve pissed me off? oh, don’t worry, i’ll make sure to close it _very gently_ ,” doyoung smirks. 

jaehyun grits his teeth and moves to tug doyoung’s hand off the handle. “i, am tired right now. and you, are not making things any better. my office at 9 a.m. sharp tomorrow,” he says. 

rolling his eyes, doyoung simpers back a blunt “fine” before leaving the office. he pops his head back into the office, saying painstakingly sugary, “i’ll be going now, sajang-nim! thank you for being so sweet to me!” 

after the door shuts behind doyoung, jaehyun groans and kicks the coffee table. 

“why is he so god damn infuriating? and why can’t i bring myself to fire him already?” he mutters. 

he goes over to pick up his phone and contacts seulgi, “could you manage to get an ikea desk by tonight and have it assembled before tomorrow morning?”

* * *

“-and he didn’t even apologise! at all!” doyoung finishes his rant, throwing his chopsticks into the air. 

taeyong coos sympathetically and rubs doyoung’s arm. yuta just ruffles the younger’s hair and says, “you’re right. he’s a total asshole.” 

“but honestly, don’t you think you’re being a bit too snappy with him?” taeyong softly asks. 

“huh? what?” doyoung is dumbfounded. 

“it’s just my personal take, but i don’t believe jung jaehyun is that bad of a person. maybe he just doesn’t like warming up to people and being nice. it’s probably coded into his attitude already, as a businessman. he probably sees you as an enemy that can’t be trusted by instinct,” taeyong shrugs and plays with his hoodie strings. 

doyoung thinks of how jaehyun looked during mark’s press conference, eyes filled with unadulterated familial love and hands gentle as he comforted the younger. he thinks of how jaehyun looked so at ease with jungwoo, his professional facade dropping for just a while when fooling around with his friend. he thinks about how wound up the ceo looked when texting the person when they were eating, eyebrows knitted together and eyes clouded. 

jung jaehyun is a living enigma, he realises. 

“b-but, he’s still mean!” doyoung’s initial harsh tone drops down to something more vulnerable. 

“i know, you big baby. but it’s nothing like a few bags of chips to fix that bruised ego of yours, right?” taeyong smiles. 

doyoung begrudgingly agrees and yuta watches fondly as his best friend talks about another topic, something about clothes, he doesn’t really know. 

but what he knows, is that doyoung isn’t one to back down from a challenge, specifically cold and guarded people, and jung jaehyun better get ready for his walls to get ripped down.

* * *

the next day at 9 a.m. sharp, doyoung walks into the office and is met with a brand new ikea desk that looks slightly wobbly, but not completely in shambles. jaehyun asks, “will this do?” while feigning ignorance and pointedly looking at the walls. 

_it’s probably coded into his attitude already, as a businessman_ , taeyong’s words ring in doyoung’s head. 

he smiles and runs a finger along the edge of the wood, “yes. thank you.” 

jaehyun doesn’t reply, instead nodding his head and twisting away to not look at him. he sighs and looks at his hands, slightly red and weirdly smooth. 

_stupid confusing ikea manuals_ , he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know whether you've managed to dissect jaehyun down in the comments hehe


	4. the 7th sense ; 第七感

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i'm really sorry with how this turned out. it's not my best, that's for sure, and i've been struggling to write this past week. i'm better now, but this chapter isn't very well-written, i hope you can forgive me.

doyoung likes quiet places. chaos has never been his forte, and he doesn’t particularly favour noise and bustle. nevertheless, he’s learnt to deal with it, growing up in a busy neighbourhood with wild kids, moving to hectic seoul and being friends with yuta (no offense, he does love the japanese to bits, but his best friend can be _loud_ at times). 

he enjoys the serenity working on jaehyun’s floor, being away from the rest of the departments, especially the developers department. it’s not that he doesn’t like the people there, far from it actually, but the constant talking and cacophony of technology make him feel uneasy. he prefers the silence that comes with working with the young ceo and that’s a consolation to dealing with his attitude. 

the _ding!_ at the elevator makes him look up from his report, fingers resting on the keyboard. he quickly shuffles to greet jaehyun when he steps out, but is met with jungwoo in all of his orange haired glory beaming at him. 

doyoung bows, “kim jungwoo-ssi.” 

“kim doyoung-ssi! i’m just here to see sajang-nim and drop a report,” jungwoo gestures the file in his hand. 

“oh, but sajang-nim isn’t in right now. he said he needed to visit somewhere personal?” doyoung furrows his eyebrows. 

jungwoo’s eyes widen in realisation, and he nods. thinking that jungwoo is going to leave, doyoung sits back down and continues typing. he isn’t too well-armed in small conversations, and tends to leave them to taeyong and yuta instead to fill the silence.

“say, it’s a slow day down at my department. you wouldn’t mind if i stay here and talk?” jungwoo suddenly asks, plopping down on the sofa beside doyoung’s desk. 

doyoung’s heartbeat suddenly quickens, but he manages to mutter out a soft “no, i don’t.” 

“so, how’s jaehyun hyung been treating you? is he getting too fussy?” jungwoo asks the elder, concern evident in his voice. 

“he’s alright. nothing i can’t handle,” doyoung smiles at the other. he’s surprised by his concern, when they barely know each other at all. however, if jungwoo is as nice as he looks, he wouldn’t mind knowing him a little more. 

“i know hyung can be um, overbearing at times, and he comes off as a cold asshole most of the time. don’t take it too personally, it’s just how he was brought up to be,” jungwoo softly says, toying with the hem of his shirt. “he’s actually a nice person, and he helped me through a lot back in university.”

doyoung just nods, slightly confused at the onslaught of information thrown at him. he doesn’t particularly hate jaehyun, but he can’t deny the twinge of fury that appears when the ceo says something less savoury, or acts out of line. after hearing jungwoo’s explanation, at least he knows that it’s all just a reflex jaehyun has towards outsiders. 

“thanks, jungwoo,” he smiles at the younger.

“no problem! we should talk more, with you being new in the company, and i like knowing new people,” jungwoo looks absolutely radiant, eyes sparkling with mirth as he props his chin on his hand to look at him. 

“oh, uh, yeah, sure,” doyoung mumbles, not wanting to let his nerves show. 

jungwoo grins, and turns to text someone on his phone. doyoung focuses back to typing out his report and preparing jaehyun’s presentation, fingers flying all over the keyboard rhythmically, stopping occasionally to refer to the papers. it isn’t long until the elevator hums again, and a muffled _ding!_ snaps doyoung out of his trance, startling jungwoo too. 

jaehyun, hair disheveled but suit still as creaseless as ever, steps out of the elevator, shoes clicking on the floor tiles. doyoung and jungwoo bow at him, and he distractedly looks up. 

“jungwoo?” jaehyun asks questioningly.

ever the cheerful man, jungwoo waves the file in his hand, “just wanted to drop this off, i’ll be off now!” 

with that, he shoves the file into jaehyun’s hands, surprising him, and scurries off into the elevator with a bright smile plastered onto his place. “bye, doyoung-ssi!” he yells before the doors shut, making the other giggle. 

jaehyun shakes his hand with a small smile on his face, sighing. he peers at doyoung’s computer, “you’re doing the presentation draft already? what about the financial report i gave you a few days ago?”

“i’ve done it already. it’s right-,” doyoung reaches to the other side of the desk, “-here!”, and passes the finance file to jaehyun. he finally managed to finish it two days ago, struggling with the mess of numbers and multiple transactions, but he pulled through, even adding a few graphs and charts to make the information easier to understand. it’s not his best work, sure, but he worked hard on it. 

jaehyun pushes back his mussed up hair as he flips through the report, eyes scanning over the text and graphics quickly, even humming occasionally. his face is void of any emotion, passive, and doyoung opts to focus on the vein on jaehyun’s arm as he waits for the ceo’s verdict. the vein bobs as he turns the papers, and his tongue pokes out a little against his lips. 

“this is good. really detailed,” jaehyun finally finishes reading the report, “send me a soft copy of the document, and i’ll have a closer look at it later. i’ll take this file too.” 

doyoung nods, “yes, sajang-nim.” relief pools in his stomach.

after the office doors close behind jaehyun, doyoung swivels in his hair and grins happily. he finally finished the first task assigned to him, and even got complimented for it. he texts taeyong, telling him that they’ll be eating out tonight to celebrate. doyoung smiles when his best friend texts back.

_alright! i’m happy for you xoxo. yuta says good job too <3_

placing his phone back next to his keyboard, doyoung happily continues on with the presentation drafts.

* * *

they’re now in one of the conference rooms of the building, waiting for all members of the finance department to appear. jaehyun sits at the far end of the table, while doyoung is beside him, ipad already placed on the table and fingers poised on the keyboard attached. 

it’s time for the finance department’s monthly presentation, jaehyun wanting to see the company’s financial state this month. as far as doyoung knows, their stocks have been steady so far, but then again, he’s not involved in the more gruelling part of running a company. his report is placed in front of jaehyun, and he feels a wave of pride wash through him when he sees it’s been stamped with approval in front. 

one by one, the staff file in, jungwoo included. the younger shoots them a small smile, but sobers up enough to greet the other people in the room. after a little scuffling of placing tablets and notebooks, jungwoo steps to the front of the white screen, holding a laser pointer in his hand and a remote. 

“good afternoon, my fellow department staff, our sajang-nim, and his assistant, kim doyoung-ssi. today, i’m going to talk about neo culture technology corporations’ financial state this month. as you can see, there is…” 

as jungwoo drones on and on, doyoung furiously types on his keyboard, keys tapping rapidly. he doesn’t want to miss a single bit of important information and he curses himself when his eyes squint at a text that’s murky and blurred. 

_fuck, i forgot to wear my contacts._

jaehyun beside him is unfazed, his own glasses perched on the bridge of his nose, frameless and lenses round. doyoung can’t deny the fact that the glasses give the young ceo an air of intelligence and superiority, makes him look more sophisticated, elegant. he asks questions occasionally, ears taking in the presentation and eyes flitting between doyoung’s report and jungwoo’s slideshow. 

jungwoo’s presentation reaches its end, and everyone in the room claps politely. the finance department head bows his head shyly, hands clasped in front and smiling brightly. “any questions?” he asks. 

jaehyun suddenly hums, sound deep in his throat. everyone in the room swivels to look at him, and doyoung sees a flash of fear in someone’s eyes, the others looking at each other nervously. jungwoo, on the other hand, is still just standing in front calmly, rocking back and forth on his heels slowly as he waits for jaehyun’s question. 

what he doesn’t expect is jaehyun asking, “doyoung, what do you think we should cut down on next month, based on this month’s report?” 

doyoung jolts at the question, knee hitting the table loudly. hissing in pain, he mumbles a quick apology, before looking at his notes. a few stray giggles escape the guy beside him and he blushes a puce red.

 _c’mon doyoung! you didn’t waste your scholarship and time just to be unable to answer a simple question._

doyoung steels his nerves, before finally speaking. “so, uh, based on jungwoo-ssi’s presentation, it seems that a big portion of our money has been going to the developers’ department but since it’s for an update, it’s acceptable. instead of cutting down, maybe we could try an alternative to earn more money, like advertising or offering more packages for players to buy. uh, i think that’s all i can say?” he wrings his hands nervously. 

_please god, please make sure i didn’t fuck up big time._

after a seemingly decade-long silence, jaehyun _finally_ breaks the silence with a chuckle. the other staff members immediately relax at the ceo’s reaction, some even offering a small smile of their own at him. doyoung exhales deeply, sighing in relief. jungwoo beams at him, hands miming a clap and giving him a subtle thumbs up. 

“quick thinking, doyoung. now, let’s get back to…” jaehyun plucks doyoung’s report up and flips through it again.

* * *

as the sun sets in the horizon, beams of yellow light seeping into the office and basking it in a warm, pretty glow, doyoung glances at his watch and realises it’s already 5:29 p.m. he suddenly remembers his promise to taeyong and yuta, his dinner treat tonight. 

he checks the ipad, smiling when jaehyun’s schedule is free for the rest the night, since the inter-company dinner was postponed to a later date. he still has to ask jaehyun for permission though, and that’s probably the scariest part. although he isn’t necessarily afraid of jaehyun, there’s something about him, the electricity and power in his aura that makes the other gulp when left alone. 

“c’mon doyoung, let the gay gods’ power flow through you,” he mutters as he knocks on jaehyun’s door. 

he pushes open the door, only to be met with jaehyun on the phone, hair even more tousled than this morning, and eyes seething with anger and exasperation. he’s muttering angrily into the phone, cutting off whoever is on the line continuously, even jabbing his finger into the air as he enunciates every word with finality. 

“no, hyung, we can’t do that. listen to me, we can’t. minwook is a sleazy liar, he’d probably pull some fucked up shit onto our companies. plus, he’s already been involved in so many lawsuits,” jaehyun pauses, “-no, those aren’t rumours, i have an insider!” 

another pause. another deep breath. 

“thank you, hyung,” jaehyun mutters through his lips, but not without obvious relief. he says another few phrases, throwing a little english here and there, before bidding the other goodbye. 

after throwing down the phone onto his desk, jaehyun looks up at last, and jumps when he sees doyoung at the doors, eyes widened and expression guilty. he finally saw jaehyun in full ruthless businessman mode, a sight that the latter prefers to keep behind closed doors and business negotiations. not that doyoung wouldn’t see it sooner or later, but the entire display of jaehyun’s wrath, even towards his own brother, didn’t help his nerves in asking his boss for the early leave. 

“doyoung? what is it? i have a meeting?” jaehyun quickly recollects himself, raising an eyebrow at his personal assistant. 

doyoung swallows down the nausea, and starts to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. “um, no, actually, your schedule is free for tonight-” 

“-then? did you do something?”

“no, no, sajang-nim. it’s just, since your schedule is free, and you won’t be needing me a lot for the time being, could i please go home early?” doyoung gets it out. 

jaehyun pauses, and opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by doyoung, “i have a dinner tonight with my friends, and we’re celebrating something important, and i really don’t want to miss it.”

doyoung pauses after that, eyes nervously darting everywhere, except at jaehyun’s face. he focuses on the fan-made artwork of one of cherry bomb’s characters, the delicate sweep of brush strokes of colours, the intricate details of the character’s face. he makes a note to pull up the game’s wiki page when he has the time, to see the allure of the game that makes it so successful. 

“okay,” jaehyun says, “yes, you can go now. have fun with your friends. remember to come to work tomorrow.” 

doyoung exhales shakily, his fists finally unraveling. “thank you, sajang-nim!” he bows at jaehyun before leaving the office.

* * *

seo youngho steps out of the elevator, sighing as he sees the frame of light at his best friend’s office doors. this is the nth time that jaehyun has stayed at the company late to work, and it’s always the same excuse.

_”oh, i didn’t notice the time.” “you have a digital clock on your desk and a watch, jae.”_

_”i promise this is the last document i’ll look through.” “jae, you said that an hour ago.”_

youngho shakes his head, and opens the doors. 

“doyoung? i thought you went ho- johnny!” jaehyun looks up from his computer and calls youngho by his american name, making the other smile in spite of his concern. he pushes himself up from the chair, going over to hug him. 

“so what brings you here?” jaehyun asks as he leans back against the couch, crossing legs. 

youngho takes off his jacket, “i was in the area and had to check up on you.” he gestures at jaehyun’s turned on computer and the multiple files on his table. 

jaehyun stiffens at youngho’s silent accusation and grimaces. “i know, i promised i wouldn’t again. but, minwook’s back in the game and i have my shit cut out for me so he doesn’t win nct corp again. it’s only-”

“-this time. i know, jaehyun. you’ve said that so many times,but you’re still here. overworking yourself and not taking care of your health. how many cups of coffee have you had today?” he cuts off jaehyun, fingers tapping on his knee. 

“that’s not the point. you know i can’t afford to let this company out of my grasp,” jaehyun mumbles back, too tired to snap back. 

youngho notices the eye bags beneath jaehyun’s eyes, the dark shadow under them, the tired frown on his mouth and the lost glimmer behind his eyes. he sighs, “okay, fine. but not too late today, okay?” 

jaehyun nods, and smiles at youngho weakly, thankful that he isn’t pushing today. 

“so how’s the new assistant?” the american looks at jaehyun’s face.

jaehyun raises an eyebrow at that, “he’s fine, i guess.”

“c’mon. i know you’re hiding something. spit it out, jae,” youngho grins.

jaehyun laughs at his best friend’s words, “you know me too well,” he shakes his head. 

“he’s not horrible. it’s just he’s so god damn infuriating!” he rolls his eyes skyward. “that day, he snapped at me for being too “fussy” about my coffee. you know my taste buds are sensitive, hyung,” he whines petulantly. 

youngho tries to stifle his laughter, but jaehyun isn’t done, not quite yet. “it’s not just that, he constantly rolls his eyes at me whenever i say my hair looks good! isn’t an assistant supposed to be supportive of their boss? he said my hair _isn’t that special_ , when i use gel that’s imported from bloody germany,” he crosses his arms in front of his chest, pouting. 

youngho is rolling on the sofa in peals of laughter at his best friend’s whining. “you’re getting mad over that? dear god, jaehyun, you’re twenty-three. fully mature to not complain about coffee that you don’t even like,” he looks at him pointedly at the last sentence. 

“even more, if he’s that bad, why haven’t you fired him? the jaehyun i know wouldn’t tolerate anyone’s bullshit, eh?” he raises an eyebrow. 

for the first time in his business life, jaehyun is at a loss of words. “i-i don’t know! it’s just maybe ‘cause he’s actually competent? doyoung finished a finance report that even i struggle with in just one day and he already turned in the presentation draft that i assigned to him this morning. my schedules are also really well arranged and i actually have the time to eat in three months,” he exasperatedly breathes out the last words. 

a wolf whistle from youngho. “damn, he really is something, huh? oh-so-tough jung jaehyun has finally met his match,” he teases the other. 

the ceo just swats him on the arm playfully, a frown dancing on his lips. “he’s not too much of a pushover too. remember shinhyung from marketing?” 

“that self-centered arse?” 

“yea, him. god, it was so funny when shinhyung practically barked at doyoung to fetch him statistics from five years ago and he just said _i’m not your fucking dog, fuck off_. shinhyung was so shocked, you should have seen his face,” jaehyun chuckles at the memory from yesterday. 

silence. jaehyun looks at youngho, who’s staring at him with mirth in his eyes, and a slow smile making its way to his lips. “what?” he asks. 

youngho shakes his head, “it’s nothing bad, don’t worry. it’s just,” he shakes his head. 

“just what?” jaehyun prompts, leaning forward. 

“i haven’t seen you smile so much because of someone else that isn’t family, sicheng, mark, hyuck or me. you’ve always been so closed off from meeting new people and you’re so flippant about them too. whatever this doyoung guy is doing, he’s doing it right,” youngho chuckles, raising an eyebrow at jaehyun. 

the ceo leans back on the sofa, taking in youngho’s words. he’s right, jaehyun realises. it’s been a long time since he has even _smiled_ because of someone outside his social circle. he’s never been good with meeting people, always pushing them away even after the slightest interaction. jungwoo, bless him, was an insistent roommate that broke down his carefully built walls little by little, and even that took him years.

doyoung, he supposes, is a different case. under other circumstances, he wouldn’t be any special from anyone, a mere stranger looks like he just wants jaehyun for his fame and riches. however, the other is indirectly forced to be with him and something tells jaehyun that he doesn’t really care for his money by friendship, merely doing his job so he can live by. he certainly isn’t here to please jaehyun and suck up to him, that’s for sure. 

_what am i doing? thinking about him? when he insulted my coffee choices?_ , jaehyun inwardly laments.  
“jae? buddy? you there?” youngho laughs when he sees jaehyun’s eyes glaze over in thought and lose focus. 

jaehyun’s head snaps up, “uh, yeah, i’m good. dandy. perfect.” 

a silence settles over the two men, the only sound being the muffled honks of traffic and the clock beeping faintly on the desk. it’s broken when jaehyun finally speaks up, tone soft, “i visited her today.”

youngho jolts up at that, and his usually sharp eyes soften as he looks at his best friend. “how is she, jae? any news?”

“doctors say she hasn’t has signs on waking up anytime soon, but nothing’s getting worse. so, that’s...better, at least,” jaehyun’s face falls and a shadow is cast over his face as he relays the news to youngho. 

the american only nods, knowing jaehyun doesn’t want to talk about it more, not wanting to push his boundaries, especially when he’s in such a tired, vulnerable state. his best friend has always been guarded of his emotions, not letting anything seemingly faze him, up until he’s finally behind closed, locked doors or alone. in the nine years that he has known the man, jaehyun has never once backed down from a challenge, even if it means he has to face it alone. 

“it’s getting late. you should get home. i’ll leave after this,” jaehyun says softly to him. 

youngho nods and grabs his jacket, before hugging jaehyun goodbye and leaving the office. “don’t be afraid, jaehyun. never be afraid of your own feelings,” are his last words before he disappears behind the doors of the elevator. 

jaehyun furrows his eyebrows confusedly, not understanding his best friend’s advice. what feelings are there to be afraid of? he’s never been one for the chemically-induced emotions with other people and youngho understands that fully, so why the sudden sprouts of wisdom from him. deciding that youngho might have had gotten tipsy before making his way here, jaehyun goes back to his computer, studying the mechanics of the game.

* * *

doyoung laughs as he clutches his stomach that’s clenching painfully. taeyong is currently trying to rap the verses of kendrick lamar’s mixtape, emphasis on _trying_. the words cruelly twist taeyong’s tongue as he tries to follow the beat and the lyrics on screen, and he finally gives up with a loud groan as he throws the mic onto the couch in the room. 

after inhaling a pleasing dinner of chinese food at mrs lim’s restaurant, the trio decided to make a trip to the noraebang, to celebrate doyoung’s first achievement at work and yuta’s new a-lister client list. they haven’t had fun like this in ages, with taeyong and his new contract with a fitness brand, yuta having gigs every day and doyoung busy job-hunting. now that everything is falling into place, they can finally be reckless adults for once, out enjoying the thrills of life and savouring the taste of the salty night air. 

yuta laughs too when taeyong plops on his lap with a pout, “why are you laughing?” slurring a little, courtesy of a bottle of soju mixed with his own poor alcohol tolerance. the japanese merely placates him with a kiss on the lips and snatches the soju out of his way. 

“no more drinking, tae. you have a shoot tomorrow and the client wouldn’t like you showing up with a bad hangover and a grumpy face, eh?” he comforts taeyong, who was on the verge of slapping him, quietly. 

doyoung chuckles at taeyong’s tipsiness, reminding himself to never bring taeyong out on a weekday night. thinking about weekday nights, he suddenly remember jaehyun’s night schedule for tomorrow, a meeting with another potential investor at a some french restaurant. he groans at the thought of wearing stiff formal attire again. 

“alright, do. we better get this guy home before he chokes me with his tiny hands,” yuta’s holding up taeyong, who is still pouting and making grabby hands at the soju. 

doyoung chuckles, and the three best friends leave the noraebang with smiles on their faces (taeyong’s is weirdly lopsided), hearts light and steps with a spring to them. 

“i’m not coming home at my usual time tonight, hyung,” doyoung tells yuta. 

“why?” the japanese asks. 

“jaehyun has a schedule and i have to go with him.”

“oh, right. just don’t forget to take your pills if you feel like you have to, alright? i know how nervous you get around foreign people. don’t give me that look, i _know_ you hate it when you get drowsy after, but once in a while, alright?” yuta softly says as he looks at doyoung. 

“fine,” doyoung mutters, “thank you, hyung,” he adds with gratitude laced in his tone.

doyoung knows, yuta and taeyong will always be there, through thick and thin. however, there’s that lingering fear in his mind everyday, that sinking feeling in his heart all the time, that one day, they’ll get tired of him and move on together, to greater heights, to bigger things. and doyoung will be out of the picture. 

but as he helps yuta carry taeyong to the bed, the latter giggling and hitting yuta’s chest weakly, hence making the japanese look at his boyfriend incredulously, doyoung feels the weight leave (for now, he notes) and he thinks to himself,

_they won’t leave, not today, and hopefully not ever._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, i'm sorry.


	5. come back ; 回来

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> word count is slightly less, but it's a little light shed on jaehyun.

there’s something beautiful about the array of sunlight that bounces off the walls of jaehyun’s room, making the start of his day a little more bearable. every single day, the light streams through the translucent curtains, basking the space in a mix of pale yellow and light orange. it’s a sight he wakes up to everyday, and he supposes it’s one of the better parts of his day. 

jaehyun doesn’t like empty spaces. the fact is palpable in his apartment, where every single wall is plastered with artwork, shelves, posters. there’s not a single sliver of beige paint that can be seen. his bookshelves are filled to the brim with books, books, and _more_ books, some that he hasn’t even read. every single minute detail of his apartment has been carefully articulated by him, and it’s a shame he doesn’t get to savour it most of the time. 

jaehyun drives to the diner down the street everyday to grab his daily dose of caffeine. it’s his favourite, with the place decorated fully with plants, and the barista, jongin, actually understands his coffee order. 

“the usual?” jongin beams at him when jaehyun walks through the doors, the bell tinkling. 

“yes, please.” if it’s one thing jaehyun has learnt, it’s that jongin is never fazed by his own cold persona, instead becoming even friendlier towards him as time passes by. 

after getting his coffee - __ -, jaehyun makes his way to his office, nodding his head at seungwan, who’s all smiles and friendliness as she greets him. she’s one of seulgi’s friends, but judging by the latter’s blush whenever seungwan is mentioned, he guesses it’s more than just platonic. 

doyoung hasn’t arrived yet, he realises. he never comes in too early, always arriving ten minutes before. unlike jaehyun, who prefers to arrive before the swarm of staff rush into the building, crowding the elevators and escalators, making him feel stuffy and _uncomfortable_.   
as he’s rifling through the stack of approval letters on his desk, he hears the telltale _ding!_ of the elevator, telling him that doyoung has arrived. shuffling of footsteps, a thump - his bag - on cushion, and two sharp knocks on his door.

“your schedule for today, sajang-nim,” doyoung hands him the tablet. 

jaehyun scrolls down his schedule, groaning, “oh fuck, the investors.” he slaps his forehead.

doyoung tilts his head, looking at him quizically. “based on what seulgi-ssi told me just now, they’re your biggest potential chinese investor yet?” he asks. 

jaehyun nods, “yes, that’s true, but they’re fussy old men who are just dickheads with money and toupees.” he shudders upon remembering the fake hairpiece flying off an investor’s head once, when he was just a child. 

“so they’re just multiple ‘jung jaehyun’s?” doyoung snipes, eyes shining with mirth as he takes back the tablet. he ignores the way jaehyun’s eyes flash dangerously at him, walking out his boss’ office with a wave of his hand. 

“i do _not_ have a toupee!” jaehyun shouts childishly, and hears doyoung’s muffled high pitched giggle.

(he tells himself the skip in his heart is due to nerves, not because his assistant’s giggle sounds like angels.)

* * *

they rush through another whirlwind of meetings and presentations, time flying by so fast that doyoung feels slightly dizzy. his hands tremor a little as he downs his third cup of coffee for the day, his body still not fully adjusted to the ceo’s busy life and needing caffeine to function.

a notification pops up on his phone, indicating that jaehyun’s driver is ready. he grabs his own blazer and throws away the coffee cup. 

“sajang-nim?” he opens the door after knocking twice, “the car is ready.” 

_holy shit._

now, jung jaehyun might not be the most pleasant man to work with, but boy, doyoung would be lying if he says his heart doesn’t skip a beat at the sight of the ceo all tidied up. jaehyun’s hair is styled, bangs slicked to the back to show his forehead. the blazer looks perfect on him, hugging him in all the right places and shoulders broad. a long, simple earring on his ear glistens under the lighting of the lamp in the room. 

doyoung notices the jaehyun’s empty collar and frowns. wordlessly, he grabs the tie draped over the couch and steps in front of jaehyun. jaehyun widens his eyes, almost about to step back, but is cut off by doyoung saying, “now, a ceo wouldn’t look very formal without a tie, eh?”

jaehyun hums in agreement, “i suppose.”

doyoung deftly loops the tie over his neck, fingers swift as he tucks one end over the other, skimming over jaehyun’s crisp, white shirt. he feels the heat of jaehyun’s breath mingling with his own, gulping a little as he finally pulls the long end. 

doyoung has pretty eyelashes, jaehyun notices up close. doyoung’s lashes are long and neat, resting on his eyelids. they’re incredibly feminine, delicate against the contrast of his lighter skin, although jaehyun knows doyoung is anything but delicate, based on his sharp-witted quips and comebacks. 

jaehyun looks at himself through his reflection on the glass pane, facing the cityscape. he tries to clean up as nicely as possible for investor meetings, knowing the old geezers love nothing more than the sight of sharply dressed people and expensive-looking suits. it’s in his job description, a requirement to suck up to people when needed, to get on their good side all in the name of business. 

“let’s get going now,” jaehyun slicks back his hair one more time before getting his watch. 

“sajang-nim, there’s still two hours before the investors meeting. shall we have dinner?” doyoung checks the time. 

jaehyun agrees, and tells the driver to take them to some restaurant whose name doyoung can hardly pronounce. he watches as they zip past the busy korea streets, neon signs flashing obnoxiously and streetlamps blurring together. korea night life is no joke, it’s when the passion is sky-high and souls are on fire, ridden with adrenaline and the floods of youngsters savour the new found freedom. 

jaehyun props his chin on his hand as he looks at doyoung sitting back straight and hands poised perfectly while cutting through the steak. he blends right in with the wealthy crowd with his sleek suit, one that jaehyun didn’t fail to notice how _elegant_ he looked back in under the harsh lighting of his office. doyoung is quite pretty, jaehyun supposes, with his sharp but also soft features, lips thin but tinged pi-

“sajang-nim?” doyoung’s voice snaps him out of his admiring reverie, startling him and jaehyun tries to regain his composure. 

“yes?” jaehyun fiddles with the stem of his champagne glass.

“would you like to get the bill now?” doyoung lifts his hand, already ready to summon their waiter. 

jaehyun nods, and doyoung beckons their waiter for the night. he pats around for jaehyun’s credit card that he has with him, pulling it out from a pouch. 

_jinyoung_ , their waiter takes the card from doyoung, and jaehyun doesn’t miss the way jinyoung’s hands deliberately encase doyoung’s as they grasp the card, and the subtle smirk resting on his face when doyoung blushes a light shade of red. he also doesn’t miss the line of numbers scrawled behind the receipt as jinyoung slides it in the pad to doyoung. 

he _definitely_ doesn’t miss the words jinyoung whispers into doyoung’s ears, “call me soon, handsome.” doyoung blushes an even darker shade of red, and his fingers nervously fiddle with the tablecloth. 

it takes one last wink from jinyoung walking away before jaehyun finally stands up with a huff, his chair squeaking loudly against the polished hardwood floor. he grabs his blazer from the doorman roughly, but not without muttering a half-hearted “thanks.” 

doyoung trails behind him, eyebrows furrowed and he murmurs a soft apology at the disgruntled doorman. 

“what the hell was that?” he turns to jaehyun once they’ve settled in the car. 

“what?” he snaps back, busying himself with his phone (which is finally void of notifications thanks to a certain personal assistant.)

“you! in the restaurant!” 

“how do you think i’m supposed to react when a waiter was flirting shamelessly with my personal assistant? who was blushing and acting like lovestruck teenage girl?” jaehyun shoots back at him, eyes alight with fury. 

“that’s your problem? someone actually paying me romantic interest? jesus christ, jung jaehyun, you’ve got problems,” doyoung scoffs. 

“problems? my problem is that he looked like a fucking predator and you just dumbly walked into his trap. such a fool you are, kim doyoung. you’re too easy to trick. you think he would want to date you?” as soon as the words leave jaehyun’s mouth, a wave of utter regret washes through him. 

doyoung slaps him. square on the cheek. 

“so you think i’m not worthy enough to date? that’s what it is, huh? i thought you were just holding up a cool guy facade, but you’re actually just a big arsehole,” he glares at jaehyun, fists clenched tightly.

“fuck, doyoung, that’s not what i meant,” jaehyun splutters, trying to placate the other, but doyoung doesn’t pay him any attention, opting to furiously jab at his phone instead.

_well done, jung jaehyun, you’re officially an ass._

* * *

the air conditioner blowing in the meeting room might be cold, but doyoung’s curt silence towards him makes him shiver more. he’s tried to pry doyoung to talk a bit more, but all of his questions have been answered with polite, cleanly cut words. 

jaehyun sighs into his hand, frustrated with himself. he can’t believe he’s choosing this moment right now, to trouble himself over a mere slip of tongue, much less to his personal assistant. 

_c’mon, jaehyun. more important matters are at stake here! fussy old men with big money are the priority now!_ , he reprimands himself. 

“gentlemen,” he plasters on his biggest, fakest smile as he stands up and bows to the chinese investors who file into the room. 

after the translator sits down, the meeting starts. it begins with pleasantries, trivial questions, up until one of the sharper-eyed investors start to pull out wild cards, questioning him rapidly with questions about the company, its stability, and what it could offer in return. 

normally, jaehyun would be calm and composed in situations like this, but today is no normal day, and he finds himself faltering at every word, stuttering even. one by one, the investors start to lose interest, all wearing dubious expressions on their faces. 

“with all due respect sir, i think sajang-nim isn’t feeling very well today. shall we take a five minute break?” doyoung’s sweet voice cuts through the investor’s speech. 

when they agree, doyoung drags jaehyun out from the room into the hallway, “what is up with you? you’ll lose this deal if you keep on acting like that!” 

jaehyun rolls his eyes, “you think i don’t know that? i don’t know what’s happening with me, i can’t articulate responses properly today!” 

“you’re not the jung jaehyun i know. the jung jaehyun i know is ruthless, cold, _arrogant_ , and he gets shit done. come on, jung jaehyun, be a hard-headed arse this time, at least it’ll be useful,” doyoung rolls his eyes, before walking past him and back into the meeting room. 

jaehyun inhales deeply, trying to collect his nerves after doyoung’s very _motivating_ speech. doyoung’s right, he need to get his head back into the game, or he’ll lose the biggest investors in the world right now. and he’ll get disowned (slightly exaggerated but it works). 

“my apologies, gentlemen,” he smiles, “let’s get back to where we were earlier.”

* * *

“mark, we got it. we got the deal!” jaehyun laughs into the phone, proclaiming the good news to his dongsaeng. 

“i knew you could do it, hyung. i’m proud of you. and i know she would be too.” 

jaehyun says softly, “thanks, buddy.” 

hanging up, he slides back into the car. doyoung, who’s calling his roommate, barely glances at him. they’re on their way to doyoung’s apartment now, the least jaehyun could do after the spat. every inch of his being wants to apologise to doyoung _sincerely_ , but his persistent, stubborn mind is holding him back. so he opts to leave doyoung in peace, focusing on the little breathy giggles doyoung lets out mid-conversation. 

his heart clenches quizically. 

the driver pulls up in front of doyoung’s apartment building. before doyoung can even open the car door, jaehyun says timidly, “doyoung?” 

doyoung pauses, still not facing him but ready to listen. 

“y-you’re not th-that bad,” he mumbles out pathetically, earning a rightful huff from the other before grimacing as the car door slams shut in front of him. 

jaehyun groans, face cradled in his hands as he racks his brain for any solutions. his driver smiles pitifully at him through the mirror, “where to now, sajang-nim? perhaps a florist?” he suggests, mind already calculating a route to the nearest flower shop. 

jaehyun pauses. “no, i have a better idea. remember that chinese restaurant…”

* * *

doyoung sighs as he falls back on the couch, freshly clad in an oversized shirt and sweatpants. he covers his eyes with his arm, exhausted after such a long day, especially after all that bickering. 

he can’t believe the sheer rudeness from the ceo, shocked that he even thought about it. did he really look that simple-minded? all he got was a little flirtatious attention and a number, but of course, jung jaehyun had to ruin his happy moment with his cruel words and harsh insults. typical men, he thinks. 

“do, you’re home!” yuta flashes his big, signature smile at him. 

doyoung waves at him, eyes still covered as he struggles to get up from the couch. “long day at work,” he explains. 

he hears yuta hum sympathetically, and a clink on the coffee table tells him yuta has given him a drink. finally opening his eyes, he reaches over and grabs the glass, downing it all in one go. he’s slightly hungry, appetite not satisfied by the measly portion served in the restaurant. 

as if on cue, his stomach grumbles and yuta laughs at his obvious hunger. “i’ll order some pizza. tae’s also whining,” he gets up and dials the phone.

“i barely ate anything at work today, alright? all i had was a salad! a salad, could you believe that?” taeyong huffs as he makes his way to the couch from the bedroom. 

he throws himself across yuta’s lap, head resting on his boyfriend’s thighs. taeyong notices doyoung’s red eyes, slightly swollen around. 

“doie, you okay?” taeyong asks, worried for his best friend. 

doyoung shrugs him off, “yea, i’m good, it’s just jaehyun said some things.” 

“things? what things? what did he say?” yuta is off the phone, eyes gleaming with protectiveness as he sees doyoung’s weak state. 

“it’s silly, guys. it’s noth-” 

“doie, we _know_ you. we’ve all been friends since middle school. you really think we don’t realise when you’re hurt? we’re always here for you, okay? now, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell us, but it’s always better to let it out, alright,” taeyong coos at him, pouting a little. 

doyoung just smiles softly at him, heart clenching a little. he’s touched, he knows his friends care about him, but that stupid little voice inside of him just won’t shut up sometimes. it’s always comforting to him when he hears words from them like this. 

“thanks, tae.” 

suddenly, their doorbell rings and yuta jumps up from the couch, patting taeyong’s head when the latter grumbles. “weird, they’re fast today,” he hums. 

doyoung waits for his friend to gleefully walk into the living room with two boxes of delicious baked dough, but instead hears yuta’s cold voice. “what are you doing here?” 

taeyong also looks up curiously, eyes darting from doyoung to the direction of the door in confusion. he threads over to his boyfriend carefully, and doyoung is shocked to hear his normally-cheery best friend talk, “oh, it’s _you_.”

the ice in taeyong’s tone panics him, and he manages to push himself off the couch, walking towards the door. “guys, what is i-oh, it’s you,” he mutters.

standing right before his door, is jung jaehyun, still dressed in formal attire, but his blouse is creased, tie carelessly loosened and hair tousled to messiness. he shuffles nervously at doyoung’s voice and holds up a familiar plastic bag, holding it out to doyoung. 

doyoung just stares at the bag. _mrs. lim’s chinese delights_ , the name printed across looks back at him. he’s angry at jaehyun for sure, but he’s also puzzled why he’s holding out chinese takeout to him out of nowhere. 

“i want to apologise, for what i said,” jaehyun begins slowly, enunciating every word. 

“i was rude, offensive, frankly quite insulting, in the car. i didn’t mean my words to come out that way. i’m _sorry_ , doyoung.” there it is, the magic word that doyoung wants. it finally slips out from jaehyun’s mouth, and the assistant’s heart lightens a little. 

upon doyoung’s silence, he presses more. “i don’t really know what you like, so i asked mrs. lim about your favourites,” he grimaces as he remembers stumbling over his broken chinese, raising a fond laugh from the lady before she told him in fluent korean to not worry and just sip his chrysanthemum tea while she cooked. 

“i think she gave me quite a lot, not that it’s too much for you, you deserve all the food you like,” he trails off, “maybe your roommates could share with you?” he sneaks a glance at yuta and taeyong, who are still glaring at him, arms crossed. 

“thank you, sajang-nim,” doyoung takes the plastic bag at last, fingers grazing over his a little. he hands it over to yuta and signals him to scurry away along with taeyong. the japanese obliges. 

doyoung leans back against the doorframe, “any other words?” he raises an eyebrow, “not many people simply just see staff outside working hours.” 

jaehyun lets out a long breath, “i didn’t mean for it to come out like that, y’know. it’s not that you’re not worthy enough to date, it’s the exact opposite, i suppose. guys like jinyoung, the way he looked at you, he wanted you for one thing only, that i knew,” he stares at the floor. 

“oh,” doyoung realises the meaning behind jaehyun’s sentence.

“i don’t think you’re uneligible to date, not at all! you’re free to date anyone you like, it’s none of my busi-” 

“thanks, sajang-nim,” doyoung smiles at him, a real one this time. jaehyun feels his chest tighten just by a miniscule.

“call me jaehyun, outside of work. it’s only fair,” he mutters. 

doyoung stands up straight, and his eyes stare back at jaehyun. “say, it’s late. maybe come in to eat?” 

“no, i can’t. i still have things to go through, at work,” he clarifies. 

“work? it’s way past 10pm, jaehyun. get some rest,” the way his name rolls off doyoung’s tongue surprises him, how smooth it sounds. 

“i suppose.” 

“good night, sa-jaehyun,” doyoung stutters a little, not used to the change. 

“good night, doyoung,” jaehyun smiles a little at him. 

(this time, he admits that his heart skips a beat at doyoung’s warm words, but only because they sounds friendly and kind, nothing else.)

* * *

“schedule for today, sajang-nim,” doyoung hands him the tablet again. 

“nothing particularly strenous today,” jaehyun smiles, “ate well last night?” 

doyoung nods, “yuta hyung and taeyong hyung finished the food quick, it’s a miracle i even managed to snag some,” he chuckles, taking back the device. 

“your friends, they’re protective of you, aren’t they?” jaehyun asks. 

“they are. it’s an instinct for them probably, to care for me. we’ve known each other since we were just in diapers, it’s only natural for them to care so much,” doyoung hums. 

jaehyun nods, understanding him. he supposes johnny and sicheng are the same, all three of them sharing the same brotherly love for each other since they were young. jaehyun would give up his life for them, and he knows they would do the same. 

“oh, when will we be having the inter-company dinner? if we put it to next week, neo city won’t be able to make it. however, two weeks after is near the holidays, and some companies might prefer to travel already,” doyoung asks. 

“schedule it two weeks after. businesspeople don’t travel early,” he smiles bitterly. 

doyoung nods and walks away, already planning to make reservations and catering orders. nothing he hasn’t done before, after all he did help his mother out a little for his brother’s wedding. 

“oh, and doyoung?” jaehyun calls after him. 

“yes, sajang-nim?” he turns over.

“could you be my date for the dinner?”


	6. fly away with me ; 一起飞

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the wait!!! ive been swamped recently uwu 
> 
> simon says? more like soty please

“no.” 

“no?”

“no, i don’t want a fucking hideous yellow tie.” 

“fine,” taeyong grumbles as he sets down the offending tie, placing it back into the drawer. 

doyoung sighs, throwing himself onto the bed. it’s been an hour since he has asked taeyong for help, and the latter has been peppering him with ugly tie colours persistently. he loves taeyong a lot, but when it comes to fashion, he knows his best friend is a little _eccentric_.

“i can’t believe you’re jung jaehyun’s date for the dinner,” taeyong laughs, “our doyoungie finally getting some action.” 

“oh, shut up. he asked me ‘cause he doesn’t have any female friends that he has an interest in or aren’t taken already,” doyoung rolls his eyes. 

“he could have asked any other male friend he has. one that’s closer to him.” 

“well, he didn’t. i’m pretty sure he has no feelings for me whatsoever.”

“the man did drive all the way back to your apartment to give you chinese food from your _favourite_ chinese restaurant though,” yuta says from the doorway. 

doyoung opens his mouth to retaliate, but is cut off by taeyong jumping up and running to hug yuta. “you’re home!” 

yuta has been swamped with photoshoots lately, having recently signed with a shoe brand as their seasonal line photographer. nowadays, taeyong wakes up to crumpled bed sheets and apologetic text messages. sure, he’s a bit sad, but nothing beats seeing his boyfriend looking so satisfied and truly happy with what he’s doing. 

“i can’t believe the dinner is two days away! i’ve put off preparing for it for way too long,” doyoung grumbles, and his phone rings with a text message. 

_from : jung-sajang_  
 _send me a picture of your suit._

_i need to make sure it’s acceptable for old people._

doyoung rolls his eyes, already used to jaehyun’s weird antics. “help me take a picture, would you?” he passes the phone to taeyong, suddenly feeling self-conscious and brushing his bangs so they fall on his forehead neatly. 

“for who?” 

“jaehyun. he wants to see my suit.”

doyoung ignores the smug look taeyong shoots him behind the phone, and attempts to pose casually for a photo. taeyong laughs, “i haven’t seen you this stiff ever since a girl hugged you in third grade!”

doyoung huffs and yuta moves forward to squeeze his shoulders. the younger instinctively drops his shoulders into yuta’s hold, relaxing into the familiar touch. “that’s it!” taeyong shoots him a thumbs up.

he sends the picture to jaehyun, ignoring the small irregular thumps of his heart and his jittery chills. why does he suddenly feel so nervous? it’s only jaehyun. sarcastic, mean jaehyun who’s just his boss. 

(his sarcastic, mean, good-looking, might-be-kind-after-all boss.) has 

_ding!_. doyoung opens jaehyun’s message.

 _clear my schedule in the afternoon. we’re going shopping._

doyoung almost drops his phone.

* * *

“sajang-nim,” doyoung bows at jaehyun slightly, and passes him the tablet as per daily routine. 

jaehyun hums, “we’re going shopping for suits today, yes?” he looks at doyoung imploringly. 

doyoung nods, blushing subtly as he feels jaehyun’s eyes linger on him longer than expected. he busies himself with tidying the papers strewn all over his desk, anything to distract himself. a sigh of relief is let out when jaehyun leaves him alone, the latter stepping into his own office instead. 

jaehyun doesn’t particularly like chinese food, yet he finds himself seated at the same chinese restaurant that doyoung first brought him, expectant of the pineapple fried rice. doyoung, in front of him, is especially jittery today, he’s noticed. his assistant jumps at any minor contact with him, it be calling his name, accidentally brushing hands, jostling his shoulder. he doesn’t know what has gotten into doyoung, but he hopes it doesn’t last long. 

“your food,” the same waiter serves them again, smiling at doyoung and jaehyun brightly.

doyoung digs into his food immediately, hunger imminent as he eats with big bites. jaehyun looks at him concernedly, “did you not eat this morning?” 

doyoung pauses, and swallows his food. he shakes his head, “i woke up late. only had time for coffee.”

“and you tell me to take care of myself. kinda hypocritical, don’t you think?” jaehyun snarkily replies, but doyoung catches a hint of concern laced in his tone.

doyoung just shrugs, opting to dig back into his food. soon, he has finished the whole plate and washes the food down with some tea. jaehyun isn’t done yet, still picking out the onions slowly. 

“i can’t believe you don’t eat onions!” doyoung rolls his eyes. 

jaehyun rolls his eyes skyward back, “what’s it to you, then?” 

“well, your driver is gonna be here soon. we don’t have all the time in the world,” doyoung glances at his watch. 

“fine,” jaehyun grumbles, and doyoung wants to laugh at the disgruntled look on his face that makes him look like a child, not an actual young ceo ready to take on the world.

* * *

the driver pulls up in front of a store, its sign flashing some french words that are foreign to doyoung. 

_i should have taken that french elective when i had the chance_ , doyoung thinks.

jaehyun and doyoung get down from the car, and head into the store. the woman at the counter- _irene_ \- smiles at them. “jaehyun,” she dips her head.

“noona!” jaehyun hugs irene after months of not seeing her. he feels guilty, but he can’t help the feeling of pride as his eyes scan the lavish boutique, all product of his friend’s hard work.

irene laughs, “it’s been a long time. who’s this?” she gestures to doyoung.

“kim doyoung. sajang-nim’s personal assistant,” doyoung introduces himself just after jaehyun opens his mouth, “my date.”

doyoung blushes, _hard_. he has never heard jaehyun say those words explicitly, the latter always vaguely referring to him as “a companion”. truthfully, he hasn’t heard anyone say that about him ever. it makes him feel something somewhat unfamiliar, unnerving him to the core.

irene raises an eyebrow. “you’ve grown so much, jaehyun-ah,” she pokes his shoulder with a smirk.

jaehyun whines. the woman just chuckles, before tapping doyoung on the arm and dragging him away from the counter. “let’s make you the best-looking man at the dinner. apart from jae of course,” she winks.

doyoung flusters, not knowing how to reply her. all this talk about jaehyun is making him bothered, not necessarily in the bad way, but not exactly a good feeling too. he ignores the creeping sensation and follows irene instead, browsing through the aisles.

“now, jaehyun’s getting a navy blue suit. let’s get you something similar, eh?” she hums to herself, and rifles through seemingly identical garments.

irene fishes out a navy blue suit jacket, smiling slightly as she hands it to doyoung. “now, you have an extraordinarily nice neck, as what i’ve been told. wouldn’t want to hide them,” she winks as she grabs a white blouse. 

under irene’s orders, he hurries to the changing rooms. he looks at the clothing in his arms, sighing softly before changing into them. doyoung looks in the mirror.

_oh. damn._

he doesn’t know irene personally, but it’s safe to say she’s not very shy in terms of fashion. the suit jacket fits snugly on doyoung, accentuating his broad shoulders and the high waisted pants flaunt his narrow waist, making his legs look longer than they really are. the collar of the blouse dips down, showing off his sternum.

he steps out from the changing room, and is met with jaehyun sitting on a chair while irene leans on the wall. she claps her hands, “finally! now one more thing.”

before he can protest, irene steps forward and ties something velvet around his neck. it’s comfortable at least, the soft material against his skin. _a choker_ , he realises. he has seen taeyong wear a few in his pictures, but he never imagined himself wearing such accessories. he’s always been a subtle jewellery sort of guy.

the choker is a simple black band across the expanse of his neck, colour a stark contrast against his pale skin. it brings more attention to his neck, consequently his collarbones. he shifts to his sides, admiring how good the accessory looks with his outfit. 

doyoung catches jaehyun’s stare in the mirror. the latter’s eyes are glued onto the choker, unwavering and focused. something flashes through them as doyoung toys with the choker, adjusting it a little. “how do i look?” doyoung turns to jaehyun, startling the latter.

jaehyun falters, “y-you look g-good, i suppose,” he glances to the side of the room. 

“is this too much?” doyoung touches the choker again, humming. “maybe i should take it off.” 

“no.” jaehyun’s response is immediate and clear as he pushes himself up from the chair, shrugging on his blazer. “it suits you.” 

doyoung blushes again, and irene clicks her tongue. “i take it you’re buying this whole outfit? better get some shoes from next door though,” she says.

“buying? oh no, i can’t,” doyoung sighs, already giving up on owning the suit after one glance at the price tag of the suit jacket.

jaehyun hands his card over to irene, “i’m paying.” his tone offers no negotiation with doyoung, and the latter just gapes at the ceo with wide eyes and a grateful heart. 

(he tells himself that jaehyun is paying for it because he doesn’t want doyoung to look like a total slob at the dinner.)

irene slides him a pair of long earrings, similar to jaehyun’s. doyoung blushes again and irene just smiles.

* * *

“you’re telling me jung jaehyun paid for the entire outfit?” taeyong gapes comically at doyoung, hands still gripping the chopsticks tightly. 

doyoung just nods with a mouthful of fried noodles. swallowing, he says, “he just whipped out that beautiful credit card and whoosh! the gorgeous suit was mine.”

yuta snorts, “at this point, he can just be your sugar daddy.” 

“yuta hyung!” doyoung whines, and yuta laughs. it’s always fun to rile doyoung up with more explicit things, the latter always turning red and flustered. 

“it would be nice though. think about it doie, getting lambos, wearing brands…” taeyong trails off, smirking at yuta. “but all that doesn’t matter, since the most precious thing in the world is with me right now,” he reaches up to peck yuta on the lips. yuta blushes scarlet. 

doyoung throws his spoon at taeyong. “public indecency!” 

“we’re in a bloody apartment!” taeyong looks affronted, mostly by the dark stain on his shirt.

* * *

doyoung exhales deeply, rubbing his sweaty hands on his pants. he mumbles a soft thank you to the driver, and steps out of the car. 

jaehyun’s house is surprisingly small, at least smaller than expected. there’s no obnoxious freshly cut green lawn, just a quaint garden planted with all kinds of herbs. there’s no large line of expensive cars, just a garage for two to three cars. however, there’s something about jaehyun’s house that just exudes superiority, like the man himself.

doyoung raps his knuckles on the door, nearly stumbling when it swings open just after the second knock. a girl smiles at him, “you must be doyoung-ssi!” 

doyoung nods dumbly, confused. the girl giggles, “i’m sooyoung, a friend of jaehyun’s. he’s told me a lot about you.” she winks. 

“oh. well, i hope it’s been good things,” he shuffles his feet, hands wringing nervously behind his back. 

sooyoung widens her eyes, “oh, i’m so sorry. come in! jaehyun’s been expecting you.” she tugs his wrist, leading him to the living room. 

“jaehyun’s been expecting me?” doyoung points to himself incredulously. he ignores the magnified beating of his heart. 

sooyoung smirks, “yes. he’ll be right down in-“ 

“doyoung.” 

doyoung swivels around, nearly tripping on his heels as he faces the stairs. “jaehyun,” he breathes out, taking in the sight before him. 

jaehyun is clad in an identical blazer as him, it hugging his shape tightly, emphasising his toned chest. the sleeves of his blazer ride up as he reaches up to adjust his collar, revealing a lovely vein traveling down his forearm. doyoung gulps at the sight of his legs, which are seemingly elongated by his pants, proportions heavenly. 

“mind helping me?” jaehyun snaps doyoung out of his entranced state, holding up a black tie. 

doyoung shakes his head and moves forward to take the tie over from jaehyun. their fingers softly bump into each other clumsily, doyoung quickly snatching the tie. once again, a shiver creeps up his spine as he moves closer to jaehyun, his heart pounding against his chest. 

jaehyun isn’t any better himself. he finds himself glancing everywhere, except at his assistant who is standing _very_ close to him right now. he’s absolutely enchanted by the earring hanging from doyoung’s earlobe. it’s simplistic, just a long strip with a shining crystal at the end, but it makes doyoung seem even more elegant, more _regal_. 

it’s crazy kim doyoung isn’t born a royal, because his looks say otherwise.

“all done,” doyoung proclaims, stepping back. jaehyun resists the urge to pout at the lack of warmth. 

“you two are so cute! how long have you two been dating?” sooyoung claps her hands, eyes shining. 

jaehyun clears his throat, “sooyoung, i told you we aren’t dating. he’s just my assistant.” 

doyoung feels a dull pain in his ribs.

“where’s your uh, that,” jaehyun looks at the floor as he gestures to his neck vaguely. 

“my choker?” doyoung asks, eyebrows furrowing when jaehyun chokes on air, “yes, _that_.” 

doyoung fishes the choker out of his pocket, fingers curling around the fabric. “it’s here. no one was at home just now and i couldn’t do it myself.” 

wordlessly, jaehyun takes the choker from doyoung’s hold and steps behind him. doyoung shivers when cold fingers nimbly touch his neck, brushing softly against the skin there as jaehyun adjusts the choker around his neck. doyoung hums when the choker is tight enough, and jaehyun understands, fastening the clasp. 

“thank you,” doyoung murmurs softly. 

jaehyun only nods and steps away, mumbling something under his breath. 

( _beautiful_ , sooyoung hears.)

doyoung, oblivious as he is, just beckons to the door. “the car is ready for you.” 

sooyoung waves at them as they exit jaehyun’s house together. upon doyoung’s confused expression, jaehyun explains, “sooyoung’s waiting at my house for her girlfriend, kim yeri. she helped me get ready just now.” 

doyoung hums in adknowlegement, and averts his eyes to the nightscape. it’s winter, but snow hasn’t fallen yet, streets still bare of white flakes. he likes winter, the coldness in the air might be unbearable at times, but the serenity that comes with the cool skies and dark-hued days are somewhat _beautiful_. 

they arrive at the venue, doyoung recognising the lavish hotel from pictures. it’s lit up by spotlights opposite, harsh light reflecting off the glass panes on the building and giving an impression of shining. guests are slowly trickling in, each and everyone of them clad in gorgeous dresses and prim suits, each with haughty, unapproachable faces. 

jaehyun steels himself and exits the car. he waits for doyoung to do the same, feeling the other step beside him, also slightly breathless. doyoung looks so out of place, yet his entire demeanour blends right into the wealthy crowd, making him seem like another guest, not jaehyun’s plus one. 

“let’s go in?” doyoung offers, gesturing to the doors. 

jaehyun nods, and they make their way to the lobby. the lobby is littered with guests, all with a flute of champagne in hand, and waiting for the ballroom doors to open. doyoung sighs in relief when he spots the flowers decorating the doors, primroses and sunflowers. the florist took forever to get them right, but it all worked out. 

“jaehyun!” a lilted accent exclaims, and doyoung’s quick mind deciphers the tall man approaching them as seo youngho, jaehyun’s american best friend. 

jaehyun loosens up immediately at the familiar voice, hugging the other. “johnny! you made it!” he says, “where’s ten?” 

“he’s there, with mark. i think your little brother’s trying to pull him in as choreographer,” youngho half-heartedly nods towards the direction. 

“doyoung, if i remember correctly?” youngho’s eyes glimmer with mirth as he looks at doyoung, and he extends his hand for him to shake. doyoung does. 

“kim doyoung, sajang-nim’s personal assistant,” doyoung bows his head. 

jaehyun tugs his arm. “drop the formalities tonight. we’re supposed to be dates,” he reminds doyoung. 

“oh, right.” 

youngho watches this exchange with raised eyebrows. “you brought your own assistant as your date?” he laughs. 

“and what about it?” jaehyun crosses his arms indignantly. 

youngho just shakes his head, “as expected from cold, heartless jung jaehyun.” he pats jaehyun’s head. 

the night continues on without major hitches (doyoung blames the faulty mic on the sound system), and doyoung breathes a sigh of relief. his first event, and it’s going well. at least no one is drunk off their asses yet. by the time that happens, doyoung hopes he’s already safely nestled in his blankets, holding a tub of ice-cream to push down the lingering taste of champagne. 

“you okay?” he hears jaehyun ask softly, tugging on the hem of his blazer as they watch sooyoung take over the makeshift noraebang onstage. 

doyoung nods, “i’m good.” and he really is. true, the relenting buzzing of his heartbeat and his raised senses are still there, and there nagging worrying thoughts stay on his mind, but he supposes the meds he took just now are kicking in, making him feel calmer.

why does jaehyun keep asking him? all through the night, jaehyun relentlessly peppers him with ‘are you okay’ questions, eyebrows knitted. even as doyoung bantered with a new friend, qian kun, a soloist signed to neo city, jaehyun materialised beside him, grasping a plate of sushi and telling him to eat up. 

they continue to watch the performances, stifling giggles when youngho and ten stumble onstage, dancing a playful waltz clumsily. doyoung finds something more interesting too. it’s the love in youngho’s eyes as he looks at ten, the unwavering kind, the type that would cross oceans for him. it’s the adoration that shines in ten’s eyes too as they shuffle around, full of happiness and joy just by being with youngho. 

doyoung wants that. he wants the love yuta and taeyong have, unconditional and playful. he wants the love youngho and ten have, unadulterated and free. he wants to be loved, to be appreciated and in turn, also love someone with his heart on his sleeve. 

jaehyun taps his shoulder, “i’m going up to give a speech. i’ll send you home after.” without another spare glance, he walks onstage. 

jaehyun isn’t a bad guy, doyoung knows that. it’s evident when he looks at youngho and sicheng, even more so when his eyes are directed at mark. it’s also obvious when jaehyun came by his apartment two weeks ago to apologise with chinese food. jung jaehyun isn’t a horrible person at all, just a tough nut to crack. 

the dinner ends with rancous applause and muffled cheers. doyoung and jaehyun bid goodbye to the guests, climbing into the car in relief. jaehyun finally sags against the plush leather, huffing loudly. he tugs off his tie, throwing it onto his lap and ruffling his hair. it falls over his forehead gently. 

doyoung just silently closes his eyes. it’s over. a night of social interaction is over. he can’t wait to snuggle back into his bed and recharge his batteries, reunited with his pillow. taeyong and yuta should be asleep by now, he thinks. 

the driver pulls up soon enough at doyoung’s apartment complex. doyoung is about to turn to jaehyun and thank him, but the latter is already out of the car, walking towards the elevators. 

doyoung rushes after him with a quizzical look on his face. “the least i could do after hauling you through a tiring night. i know you don’t like talking a lot with strangers,” jaehyun adds. 

“h-how could you tell?” maybe doyoung hasn’t been as slick as he thinks. 

jaehyun smiles devilishly, dimples flashing. “experience.” 

they reach doyoung’s door. jaehyun glances at the endearing chipped white paint on the door, smiling a little. he spots an adorable rabbit sticker pasted on the wood too, reminding him of the man beside him. 

“thank you, jaehyun. you didn’t have to,” doyoung smiles awkwardly, hands scratching the nape of his neck. 

jaehyun only hums, looking at doyoung expectantly. “it’s no big deal. can’t have my assistant get kidnapped now, can i?” he chuckles. 

doyoung lets out a giggle at that. “good night, jaehyun,” he waves as he unlocks the door. 

only when the doors shut behind doyoung with a click, jaehyun waves and mumbles, “good night, doyoung.”!

(once again, jaehyun ignores the way his heart pounding hurriedly like a metronome on allegro, and tells himself it’s all because of the coolness of the night.) 

(little does he know, doyoung hasn’t budged an inch from the door, hands clutching at his also beating heart and breathing raggedly with relief.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is it too fast for them? let me know!


	7. sun&moon ; 太阳与月亮

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kakdkf i’ve been too busy with life lately....hence this very late update. i’m not sure whether anyone will still have an interest in this but oh well 
> 
> the writing here is as shitty as always so,,, prepare for eyes for clanky sentences

jongin’s diner is still every bit of pretty as doyoung remembers it, plants adorning each nook and cranny of the space, and pastel posters on the wall. the man behind it smiles at doyoung from the counter, the latter sending a hesitant one back before looking back to the menu. 

doyoung drums his fingers on the plastic tabletop, eyes darting between the diner doors and the laminated paper. he’s been waiting for fifteen minutes already, yet his companion is nowhere to be seen. 

_finally_ , the diner doors burst open, bell tinkling wildly, making doyoung look up. a familiar mop of orange hair sprints towards his table, and plants themselves in the seat opposite him. 

“i’m so so so sorry, doyoung-ssi. i had some things to run by with taeil hyung. let me treat you this time, it’s the least i can do after i ma-“ 

doyoung placates the frantic man, placinug a hand over his arm. “it’s okay, jungwoo-ssi. i wasn’t waiting for too long anyways.” he smiles softly. 

jungwoo visibly relaxes, letting out a deep breath. “i’m not usually like this, i promise! it’s just with the new update coming up soon, it’s getting so hectic.”

doyoung nods, understanding where jungwoo is coming from. jaehyun’s also been extremely busy lately, with non-stop meetings with multiple departments, doing his rounds more often than usual, checking up on each and every one of the staff carefully, _and_ skipping his meals way too often to be accidental. 

doyoung vaguely remembers running two blocks to the nearest restaurant to grab sandwiches for jaehyun, who at that point, looked like he was about to faint any second. seungwan furrowed her eyebrows at him when he dashed through the glass doors looking like a mad man, hands clutching a takeaway bag and coffee, but doyoung didn’t care, not when jaehyun _finally_ (albeit begrudgingly) took a bite of actual food and didn’t look as sleep-deprived anymore. 

update weeks are stressful, even more when your boss has self destructive tendencies, that’s what doyoung has learnt after a month at neo culture technology corporations. 

“-with maple syrup. doyoung-ssi?” jungwoo asks doyoung, snapping him out of his daze. 

“oh, uh, the waffles please,” doyoung mumbles. 

their waitress nods, and scurries off to pass the order to jongin. jungwoo turns to doyoung, “so, you must be wondering why i’ve asked to meet you.” 

doyoung nods, remembering how jungwoo suddenly texted him two nights ago, asking him whether he was free to grab breakfast together. 

“right. well, let’s get to know each other! nct hasn’t had a new face in ages,” jungwoo leans forward surreptitiously. 

“w-what’s there to learn about? i’m just doyoung, plain ol’ doyoung,” he answers, toying with the handle of his mug. 

“c’mon, don’t look down on yourself like that,” jungwoo leans back. “everyone’s got something in there,” he taps his left chest, “it’s just up to them whether they want to show it.” 

doyoung supposes jungwoo is right, knowing very much that he has a few secrets himself, some that even taeyong and yuta don’t know. 

“say what, i’ll let you in on a secret of mine, and you’ll tell me one in return,” jungwoo suggests. 

doyoung nods hesitantly, unable to find the willpower to reject the other. _it’s just jungwoo_ , he thinks, sweet jungwoo. what can he do?

“alright, i’ll go first,” jungwoo glances at his cup. “i don’t have any nasty little secrets with me, but i do have a few hidden things about myself.”

“what do you think about love? like, romantic love,” jungwoo’s sudden question startles doyoung. 

doyoung hums, “uhm, i’ve never really thought about it? never really had the time for it, it’s too much of a hassle.” 

“but what if you found the right person? one that makes you fall in love so hard? what if you find The One?” 

“then it’s a wholly different situation, isn’t it? i wouldn’t know, jungwoo. i’ve been love-less my whole life,” doyoung chuckles. “why the sudden discussion about love, though?” 

jungwoo blushes, “well, i’ve been seeing someone for quite a while now, and he’s really nice. i think he’s the one for me.” 

doyoung breathes out, “that’s great, jungwoo. that’s wonderful. who is it?” 

“wong yukhei. he isn’t from korea, but he moved here last year to set up a project for children to pursue musical education. he’s kind, hyung,” jungwoo sighs dreamily. “he’s doing everything for a good cause, he’s helped so many people already. yukhei’s not the most graceful, but when he’s with the children, he’s absolutely wonderful.”

doyoung catches the way jungwoo’s eyes sparkle with happiness as the latter talks on about yukhei- _he gave me a handmade bracelet yesterday!_ -and the charity project. jungwoo’s face is lit up, and it’s not by the sunlight basking through the windows, instead it’s shining with pride, pride for his boyfriend.

(doyoung hopes one day, that he’ll look like jungwoo too, glowing with happiness and love.) 

“enough about me! what about you, hyung? any love interests?” jungwoo wiggles his eyebrows. 

doyoung sighs, “not really. i’ve been busy with work lately, as you can tell. haven’t been potential love interest searching a lot.” 

“well, sometimes you don’t have to search, y’know? the right person might be right in front of you, it’s only a matter of time until you realise they’ve been there all along, for you,” jungwoo muses. 

“for someone younger than me, you sure know a lot about love, at least more than i do,” doyoung teases, making jungwoo laugh. 

their food arrives just then, and the two men pause their conversation to savour the sight of their food. just as jungwoo is about to tear into his stack of pancakes, the diner doors open again, this time the bell only tinkling softly. doyoung looks up, and nearly drops his fork when he sees jung jaehyun stroll in, dressed smartly in a suit as ever and hair slicked back. 

doyoung nudges jungwoo’s foot from under the table, making the other let out a little surprised “oof” and raising an eyebrow questioningly. he tilts his chin towards the counter, where jaehyun is leaned over, and jungwoo swivels in his chair to look. 

doyoung almost laughs when jungwoo’s jaw slackens instantly at the sight of jaehyun. “i didn’t know hyung came here in the mornings!” jungwoo turns back in his seat. “why hasn’t he told me before?” 

and of course, it’s jungwoo and it’s only natural that he suddenly shouts, “jaehyun hyung! over here!”, making doyoung wince and want to curl up under the table to hide. doyoung has never been one for public embarrassment.

jaehyun jumps a little, and turns towards them. his eyes widen when he sees doyoung smile awkwardly at him, while jungwoo is grinning like a mad man. 

_jungwoo and doyoung having breakfast together?_ , he thinks to himself. _never pegged doyoung as jungwoo’s type_. 

he ignores the way his stomach turns as he makes his way over, composure in check. he doesn’t miss the way doyoung gulps at the sight of him, the latter shakily drinking from his coffee and looking everywhere but him. 

“fancy seeing you two here,” jaehyun muses. “enjoying breakfast together?” 

if there’s anything jaehyun has realised after years of knowing jungwoo, it’s the slight smirk and knowing glint in his eyes when the younger is up to something. it’s evident right now, the way jungwoo’s lips uncontrollably curl upwards and his eyes sparkle more than usual with mischief as he turns to look at jaehyun. 

“hyung, you never told me you came here in the morning!” jungwoo claims, raising an eyebrow. 

“never really had a reason to, eh?” jaehyun quips back. he angles his body towards doyoung instead, “those waffles good?”

jaehyun wants to feel bad at the way doyoung literally jumps two centimetres up from his seat, but he really doesn’t. not when there’s a light pink blush across doyoung’s cheeks, ears a scarlet red, and making him look oh-so-pretty. 

“th-they’re good, i guess,” doyoung nearly trips over his words. 

jaehyun hums, “i better leave you two to it. don’t be late, especially you, _my_ assistant.” 

and jaehyun leaves, coffee in hand, also leaving behind a certain blushing raven-haired boy and a _very_ knowing jungwoo.

* * *

“sajang-nim, there’s someone here to see you,” doyoung peeks his head through jaehyun’s doors.

jaehyun lifts his head up and raises his eyebrows. “who is it?” 

doyoung sounds slightly breathless as he answers, “he says his name is dong sicheng.” 

“let him in,” jaehyun smiles at the mention of another one of his best friends. 

sicheng strolls in, clad in casual clothes and face bare of makeup. he still looks as adorable as ever, if not even more “boyfriend”-as what the fangirls say- than usual. clearly, doyoung thinks so too, by his constant staring at sicheng ever since he stepped into the room. 

jaehyun doesn’t fail to notice this fact too, and he deliberately turns sicheng’s back towards doyoung. “sicheng,” jaehyun smiles brightly and hugs the chinese. 

“jaehyun,” sicheng grins back. “doing well these days? how’s the new assistant?”

“could be better since it’s update week, but you know the drill,” jaehyun shrugs. “what about you? how’s kun?” he slyly grins at the last sentence. 

sicheng blushes, “he’s...amazing, as usual.” he swats jaehyun’s arm as the latter fake gags. “i’m okay, but you on the other hand, clearly aren’t having enough sleep.” 

jaehyun groans, “not you too. you and johnny both understand how i get during update week! it’ll be fine after this.” 

“no, it won’t be because you,” sicheng jabs jaehyun’s chest. “do not have the normal sleep cycle of a human being and do not know how to take care of yourself.” 

before jaehyun can protest, sicheng turns to doyoung, who’s _still_ gaping at him openly. “you, i don’t know your name, but make sure this boy here eats and rests. i don’t care about some dumb update, i don’t want a repeat of last year during peak christmas.” 

doyoung widens his eyes at sicheng’s commanding tone and feebly nods. he doesn’t know what the peak christmas season incident is, but by the way the conversation is going, it’s clearly caused by jaehyun’s tendency to overwork. 

“so, sicheng,” jaehyun’s voice cuts through doyoung’s thoughts, “if you’re done pretending i’m not here, can we please talk about something else.” 

sicheng turns back to jaehyun, smiling brightly. “right! are you free next sunday? kun and i are celebrating our engagement.” 

“engagement?” jaehyun gapes. he eyes sicheng, who lifts up his hand, and a glint on his ring finger annoys his eyes. it’s a diamond ring, small, simple yet so _sicheng_ that jaehyun knows he can trust kun to take care of his best friend. 

sicheng beams again, “he proposed yesterday. i know it’s a bit fast, but he’s just so sweet, ja-“

sicheng is cut off of jaehyun hugging him tightly, squeezing his torso. “c-can’t breathe, jae,” sicheng pats jaehyun on the head. he feels his best friend shudder with laughter slightly and his grip slacken a little, but the affectionate hug is still present. 

“my best friend’s getting married,” jaehyun eventually lets go. “never thought wild sicheng would settle down before johnny.” 

“shut up, jaehyun. you and johnny liked kun and told me he would be the one for me before i realised it myself. you saw this coming,” sicheng sniffs. 

jaehyun laughs at the memory, “yea, we did. but, wow, sicheng, you’re settling down.” 

sicheng smiles, and jaehyun wants to coo at his best friend’s now watery eyes. “i am.” 

“doyoung, reserve the entire sunday for next week,” jaehyun calls doyoung, who is finally done ogling sicheng and minding his own business arranging jaehyun’s files. 

doyoung nods, reaching for the tablet. “anything else?” he asks jaehyun, looking up. 

sicheng watches the way jaehyun’s usually harsh eyes soften when the assistant -doyoung, he notes- looks at him. _interesting_ , he muses, _jaehyun has a soft spot?_

“no, nothing else,” jaehyun shakes his head. 

doyoung hums and heads back to his desk, outside jaehyun’s office. when the doors shut close, “so, what was that about?” sicheng smirks. 

“what?” jaehyun looks at sicheng confusedly. 

“c’mon on, jae. i know a crush when i see one. the way you turned to mush when he looked at you with those eyes?” 

“i have no idea what you’re talking about,” jaehyun shakes his head in disbelief, but his ears, as usual, betray him and turn carmine. 

“hah, your ears! they’re red! jung jaehyun, you fucking liar, you know _exactly_ what i’m talking about,” sicheng smirks at his best friend. 

jaehyun shakes his head vehemently, “you delusional arse.” 

sicheng rolls his eyes, “you’re in that stage of denial,” he tuts. “wait till you realise your feelings and you’ll be begging me for forgiveness by then.” 

“stage of non-existent denial, you mean. i have no interest of that such towards doyoung. he’s just my assistant.” 

“‘my assistant’ eh? getting possessive now, i see,” sicheng wiggles his eyebrows at jaehyun, making the other groan. 

suddenly, sicheng gets an idea. he pretends to think, “hmm, since you don’t like doyoung in _that_ way, maybe i should introduce him to wonwoo. y’know that rookie model at my company? he told me he likes pretty people and boy, would he love doyoung’s doe eyes looking at hi-“ 

jaehyun slams his hand, hard, on the table. “no, not doyoung. anyone but doyoung. fuck no.” 

sicheng pretends not to have heard jaehyun, “hmm, maybe i could introduce him to soonyoung too. soonyoung has always liked soft people to dote on, and doyoung seems like that type. i should set th-“ 

jaehyun’s tone is venomous as he growls, “no. sicheng, no.” 

“-em up. next sunday when we’re celebrating should be good, eh? i better call soonyo-“ 

“sicheng, i love you, but do not set my assistant up with other men,” jaehyun’s voice is low as he warns sicheng. 

sicheng smirks, “and you say you don’t like him. it’s _just_ doyoung, jaehyun. why are you so worked up?” 

_yea, why are you so worked up, jaehyun?_ , a small voice taunts him back inside his head. jaehyun resists the urge to give himself a concussion and snaps back, “i don’t want him to have distractions from work.” 

sicheng chuckles, “alright, whatever you say.”

* * *

sicheng leaves after a while and doyoung bids him goodbye as jaehyun watches. the awestruck look on doyoung’s face is still there but jaehyun supposes he can’t blame sicheng for being good-looking. 

but he also thinks he isn’t so bad himself. 

“done ogling my best friend?” jaehyun leans against the doorframe, looking at doyoung imploringly. 

doyoung splutters, surprised that he got caught. “i-i wasn’t ogling!” 

“i know sicheng is good-looking and all, but please, he’s engaged and happily taken.” 

“just because i find someone pleasing to look at doesn’t mean i want to date them, jaehyun,” doyoung rolls his eyes. 

jaehyun is surprised at the lack of formalities at work and widens his eyes. “sicheng-ssi is good-looking that’s true, but he isn’t my type,” doyoung continues. 

“not your type? what is your type, then?” jaehyun chatises himself that he’s asking out of pure curiousity, not because of interest. 

“honestly, i don’t know. as long as someone has a good personality and isn’t a total arse, it accounts for being a good enough person to date,” doyoung shrugs. 

“anyone in mind, then? jungwoo, perhaps?” jaehyun picks at his cuticles, not looking at doyoung. 

doyoung laughs, “jungwoo’s taken, jaehyun. i’m not up for polyamory, no offense.” 

“what? jungwoo’s taken?” jaehyun’s eyes widen at the fact. 

doyoung immediately backtracks, “wait, you didn’t know? oh fuck, please don’t say anything to jungwoo, i beg you, oh god he’s gonna murder me for spilling things please pretty please don’t tell him for the love of g-“ 

“doyoung,” jaehyun interrupts him mid-rant, “relax, i’m not gonna ask jungwoo about it. he’d tell me eventually.” 

doyoung visibly relaxes, letting out a deep breath. “thank you, jaehyun.” 

“not an issue. back to the topic, anyone in mind?” 

“not at the moment. i don’t exactly have the time for boyfriends or girlfriends, jaehyun,” doyoung chuckles. 

“no time?” jaehyun furrows his eyebrows worriedly. “am i over-working you? you can have a day off anytime you want, you know. god, update week has been too much for you, right? take the day off tomorrow it’s fine, i can survive by myself don’t wor-“ 

“jaehyun, calm down,” doyoung laughs. “i’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, _you_ don’t have to worry. look at yourself instead.” 

jaehyun huffs, “what’s that supposed to mean?” 

“you aren’t exactly living a healthy lifestyle. when was the last time you’ve had at least seven hours of sleep?” 

“i-i don’t remember,” jaehyun drops his hands to his sides. 

“exactly. take care of yourself first, jaehyun. by the time you do, then you can ask me to take the day off.” 

“thank you.” 

“thank you?” 

“yes, thank you.” 

“for what?” 

jaehyun just shrugs his shoulders and goes back into his office, and a confused doyoung stares back at the closing doors. 

_huh, that was weird._

* * *

the sun is setting when doyoung finally looks up from the report he’s typing. jaehyun insisted on installing curtains ( _to prevent you from getting blind, doyoung_ ), but doyoung likes the sunset. it’s a comforting reminder that he’s still living in the moment, living his life like an employed adult. the glaring light is annoying at times, but can be fixed by just turning his back againts the windows. 

doyoung looks at the clock on his desk. 6pm, it reads. he checks jaehyun’s schedule for any events and is pleasantly surprised when there’s none. the update is planned to go up tomorrow, a promise of bugs fixed and new character upgrades. from the amount of excitement netizens are showing, he hopes it’ll go smoothly tomorrow. 

doyoung knocks on jaehyun’s door and goes in. they’ve established by now that doyoung just has to knock as a signal that he’s coming in, not to seek permission. 

“doyoung?” jaehyun looks up from his work. 

“uh, you have no other schedules later. may i head home now?” doyoung meekly asks, gesturing to the tablet. 

jaehyun nods, “yea, sure. go ahead. see you tomorrow.” 

just as doyoung is about to leave, he remembers sicheng’s words. 

_-but make sure this boy here eats and rests. i don’t care about some dumb update, i don’t want a repeat of last year during peak christmas._

“what about you, sajang-nim?” doyoung turns back to look at jaehyun, arms crossed. 

“what about me?” jaehyun answers him distractedly. 

“go home, jaehyun. it’s past office hours anyways, and the update is tomorrow. get some rest.” 

“don’t worry about me. i’ll go home later,” jaehyun off-handedly waves doyoung off. 

“jung jaehyun,” doyoung snaps, and at this, jaehyun looks up, surprised. 

“you better get your ass home and get a good night’s sleep. you can do all this shit tomorrow,” doyoung points to the paperwork on the table, knowing very well that it isn’t due for a month. 

jaehyun protests, “why can’t anyone believe me? i’ll go home later, just another ten minutes!” 

“fine. then i’ll stay here for another ten minutes to make sure you actually get home.” 

jaehyun gapes at doyoung makes himself comfortable on the couch, fluffing the pillows and laying back. “carry on now. don’t mind me, finish your work quickly,” doyoung says.

jaehyun grits his teeth as he turns back to the contract. he’s well distracted now by doyoung’s surprise appearance, and can’t focus on the words that are now taunting him, teasing him. 

_fuck you, kim doyoung._

“alright, fine! i’ll go home now,” jaehyun huffs as he stands up, reaching for his bag. doyoung sits up, smirking at his victory. 

“perfect!” doyoung gleefully claps, jumping up from the couch. “i’ll go get my bag and we’ll go down together!”

jaehyun’s heart skips a beat at the word ‘together’. he shakes his head as doyoung runs out of the office. jaehyun takes a look at the paperwork on his desk, all already completed and signed. he supposes he’s done what’s necessary. 

“jaehyun?” doyoung calls out. 

“i’m coming, sheesh,” jaehyun grumbles. 

when they reach the lobby _together_ , seungwan is still there at the counter. she smiles pleasantly at doyoung who beams back. however, at the sight of jaehyun, she widens her eyes and gasps. 

“jung jaehyun? leaving before 10pm? it’s a christmas miracle!” seungwan comically gapes. 

doyoung stifles his laughter as jaehyun rolls his eyes skyward. “careful, noona. don’t want me telling seulgi noona about your little crush now, don’t you?” 

seungwan blushes a scarlet red, “you wouldn’t dare, jung jaehyun!” 

jaehyun shrugs and doyoung has to smile. he prefers off-work jaehyun more than work-jaehyun a lot more. for one, he’s a lot less cranky and smiles more. 

doyoung knows how to appreciate a nice smile when he sees one, and jaehyun’s is exactly just that. not that he’d like to admit, but jaehyun’s smiles are well, beautiful. the other’s eyes crinkle up when he grins, and those killer dimples appear, making him appear softer, ruining his usual cold façade and replacing it with a gentler, more approachable one. 

they walk out of the building together, doyoung wincing a little when the cold air kisses his face. he should have brought a scarf today, but with meeting jungwoo this morning, he forgot. oh well, everyone has their faults. 

“so, uh, i’ll go home now. bye, jaehyun,” doyoung shivers as he waves the man goodbye, walking towards the direction of the bus stop. 

“wait, doyoung. you take the bus home?” doyoung nods. “i’ll send you home today, then,” jaehyun waves his car keys. 

“it’s okay, jaehyun. it’s too out of the way, anyways. have a good night!” doyoung skips off without heeding jaehyun, walking fast to catch the bus in time. 

jaehyun can only watch as doyoung retreats to the bus stop, standing in the middle on the pavement with his expensive car keys in hand, while someone much more precious has his back towards him.

* * *

(“sicheng?” jaehyun calls his best friend when he gets home that night. 

“hmm?” sicheng hums, surprised that jaehyun called from his house phone. guess his little advice worked. 

“do you think i have a good personality?” jaehyun asks, innocently. 

sicheng laughs, “oh, jaehyun. you’re asking this as if i’m not your friend for twelve years.”)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yea,,, i’m sorry this was shit


	8. once again ; 多一次

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw // implied suicide and homophobia, self harm
> 
> do not read this chapter if you’re sensitive to them!! take care of yourself first.

the supermarket is stranded as doyoung browses through the aisles, much to his relief. the christmas crowd has long dissipated, and everyone is back home with their families, huddled under warm blankets and hands clutching cups of hot seasonal beverages.

everyone except for doyoung, at least. his parents are currently enjoying their time in the cool mountains in switzerland, and his brother, well, has his own family. doyoung doesn’t really mind, albeit it does get lonely being alone during christmas. thankfully, he also has his appointment with his lovely psychiatrist, who is always there to listen, and maybe even to grab a cup of eggnog with him.

doyoung sighs in relief when a familiar box of cereal stares back at him. the corny cartoon character on the package seems to be teasing him with its creepy, unwavering smile, probably making fun of his lone self during the festive season. he quickly grabs the cereal and adds it into his basket. 

doyoung turns around a corner of the shelf to head to the green grocery section, but bumps into a wall of flesh instead. blushing, he quickly ducks his head and murmurs a soft apology to the stranger, expecting a gruff reply in return. to his surprise, a familiar voice greets him. “doyoung?” 

upon hearing his name, doyoung looks up from the tile floors. “kun!” he exclaims excitedly, recognising the friendly soloist from jaehyun’s dinner. 

kun brings a finger up to his lips, “i’m supposed to be in a disguise today. even though the supermarket’s empty, i don’t want to risk anything.” 

“oh, right. sorry,” doyoung sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. 

kun smiles, “it’s alright. how are you? any plans for christmas tomorrow?” 

doyoung shakes his head, “i’m afraid not. my family’s away and my friends are all busy with their own things.” 

“so you’ll be spending christmas alone? that can’t be right,” kun frowns, carding his fingers through his blond locks. 

“nah, it’s alright.” 

“say, why don’t you come to sicheng and i’s engagement party tomorrow? you’re considered a friend of ours now,” kun cocks his head to the side. 

doyoung smiles apologetically, “no, it’s really fine. i have things that i have to settle tomorrow alone too, i’ll be alright.” 

kun’s lips curve down again, but he says, “if you say so.” 

doyoung nods. it’s not the first time he’ll be spending christmas alone, and there’s a very special something he has to do tomorrow, something only taeyong and yuta know.

* * *

sunday arrives sooner than expected for jaehyun, and it rolls in with a dash of sunshine and a blaringly loud alarm that snaps him out of his sleep. 

“right, sicheng’s engagement party,” he mutters, hoisting himself up from his bed. 

soon enough, he finds himself standing awkwardly at the corner of angel restaurant, holding a flute of champagne. sicheng and kun are still at the doors, greeting their guests warmly and jaehyun can only linger alone miserably at the side of the buffet table. 

jaehyun glances around boredly, humming a little under his breath. he sees a few familiar faces, like chenle, a teen idol from china, luna, donghae, all celebrities or reowned people well-known in their fields. it’s pretentious, but jaehyun wonders if kun and sicheng’s social circles consist of normal, non-famous people. 

he spots a cotton pink haired man leaning against a wall at the other corner of the room, and a equally good looking man with bobby pins in his hair stands straight in front of him. jaehyun recognises them as taeyong and yuta, _doyoung’s_ friends. he raises his eyebrows, _never knew sicheng or kun knew them._

jaehyun supposes there’s nothing for him to lose, and he leaves his place to walk over to where the duo are. upon hearing footsteps approaching, taeyong instinctively straightens up, seeing him. the model arches an eyebrow at him, and nudges yuta. yuta turns around, eyes turning steely when he spots jaehyun. 

“jung jaehyun?” yuta greets him, not even bothering to shake his hand.

jaehyun isn’t dumb, and he knows he’s not necessarily welcome. nevertheless, he graciously smiles back, “yuta-ssi, taeyong-ssi, nice to meet you two.” 

taeyong beams, seemingly friendlier than the japanese. “jaehyun-ssi! fancy seeing you here.” 

“sicheng’s my best friend,” jaehyun hums. “we’ve known each other for a long time.” 

taeyong nods, “that’s nice. i’m under the same agency as sicheng, and yuta here was sicheng’s photographer once.” 

“so you’re a model?” jaehyun takes a swig from his champagne. 

taeyong shyly fiddles with his cufflinks, “yes, i am. not a very famous one, though.” 

“nonsense, babe. you’re acting like kibum-ssi just offered you a contract with his upcoming summer line. don’t forget your face was plastered at the train station yesterday,” yuta rolls his eyes, but not without affection. 

taeyong blushes as pink as his hair, and swats his boyfriend’s arm. “we’re in public, don’t call me that.” 

jaehyun clears his throat, “so, where’s doyoung?” 

yuta and taeyong look at each other simultaneously, both faces carrying a worried expression. taeyong reaches up on his tiptoes to whisper into yuta’s ear surreptitiously, and jaehyun can only hear strains of their conversation. 

“didn’t tell...don’t...secret...tell eventually…”

yuta’s features slowly relax, mouth morphing into a solemn line instead. he nods after taeyong hums in question and pecks the latter’s forehead. taeyong blushes again, but manages to regain his composure before turning to jaehyun. 

“doyoungie is...busy today. he has a few things to take care of for now,” taeyong clasps his hands together. 

“during christmas? surely he has enough sense to relax today, out of all days,” jaehyun furrows his eyebrows. 

yuta and taeyong share another look, the kind that only couples can telepathically communicate with, and the latter silently groans. “he just has small errands to attend to, don’t worry!” taeyong grins, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but it’s still there. 

yuta nods, “don’t worry about him, now. that’s our job.” he cracks a small smile. 

“he’s my assistant. i have the right to care about him,” jaehyun quips, taking a swig from his champagne. 

jaehyun misses the knowing look taeyong shoots yuta, raising an eyebrows and a smirk gracing his lips. the japanese also smiles slightly, glancing at jaehyun surreptitiously as the latter turns back to the couple. 

“so what projects have your company been up to lately?” taeyong asks, clasping his hands together. 

jaehyun shrugs, “an update, i guess. the design team has already created a new character, its skills are still under way, but it’s better than nothing. we _are_ planning to have a charity gala though.”

“nothing that will stress doyoung out too much, no?” yuta raises an eyebrow. 

jaehyun shakes his head firmly, “i’ll make sure he’ll be okay.” 

the smile that breaks out on taeyong’s face is enormous and his eyes shine when he pats jaehyun on the shoulder. “good to know that, jaehyun-ah,” he says.

* * *

“-see you next time, doyoung,” dr byun smiles at him warmly, but with an air of professionalism. 

doyoung nods, and gets up from his chair to grab his bagpack that’s dangling off the hook behind the office door. before he walks out the door, dr byun calls out cheerfully, “merry christmas, doyoung!” 

“merry christmas to you too, hyung,” doyoung drops the formalities. 

doyoung shoots the nurse at the counter a small wave and walks out into the frigid weather. the wind still zips by harshly, the cold air making him wince and he pulls his jacket tighter. he walks along the pavement, eyes darting around to find that familiar neon sign that he knows will always be turned on, no matter the weather. 

soon, the telltale neon blue sign appears in front of him and doyoung sighs in relief. he pushes the heavy glass door, huffing a little when it finally gives way and stumbles into the florist. the hefty aroma of lavender fills his nose and he smiles. 

seokmin, who’s just coolly sitting behind the counter, looks up from his phone. “doyoung hyung!” he exclaims, excitedly scrambling to get up. 

“seokmin-ah, what are you doing lazing around. i’ll tell you off to taeyong hyung if you keep this up,” doyoung pinches the younger’s cheek. 

seokmin grins, “it’s a slow day, after all. a little laziness won’t hurt anyone today.” 

doyoung chuckles, finding himself agreeing. taeyong’s cousin has always been a ball of happiness, always smiling and filled with cheer, never failing to make everyone around him smile with him, or at him sometimes. 

“it’s christmas, so i’m guessing you’ll be getting the usual?” seokmin softly asks, tone dropping into something more serious.

doyoung just nods, patting seokmin on the head gently. seokmin shoots him another small smile back, before running off to another corner of the store to arrange doyoung’s bouquet. doyoung waits by the arrangement of roses and lilies, inhaling the fragrance of them and rocking on the heels of his feet. 

soon, seokmin reappears in front of him, this time holding a fresh bouquet of carnations and chrysanthemums. he hands it over to doyoung, smiling again. “be careful on your way there, okay hyung? tell him i said hi.” 

doyoung swallows harshly, “i will. thank you, seokmin-ah. merry christmas.” he ruffles the younger’s hair. 

“merry christmas, hyung,” the smile seokmin shoots him is a subdued one, a little sad but still laced with merriness. 

and doyoung grips his bouquet tightly in his hands, making his way to the graveyard slowly in the midst of the white snow and soft carols from the church opposite.

* * *

jaehyun has long finished talking with taeyong and yuta, the couple excusing themselves from the party with sheepish smiles and ducked heads. he can’t blame them for leaving the place, it’s mostly full of stiff personalities and sparkly jewellery, courtesy of sicheng and kun’s parents. the business world is a harsh one, even harsher so when you don’t know how to suck up to people and sweet talk them. 

the couple of the hour are talking merrily with other guests, hands intertwined with each other’s and rings shining on both’s respective fingers. jaehyun decides it’s time to finally approach them. 

“jae!” sicheng calls as he makes his way over. “i thought you didn’t come!” 

jaehyun chuckles, “well, since both of you were so busy mingling around, i couldn’t get a chance.” 

kun smiles, “well now you got it, eh? how’s everything?” it’s been a while since jaehyun has seen kun, much less spoken to him. the two aren’t exactly very close friends, but they’ve bonded over their love for music a while back. 

“everything’s good at the company, if that’s what you mean,” jaehyun answers. “i’m okay too, sicheng. i know what you’re to ask.” sicheng hides a rueful smile with the back of his hand. 

kun rubs his thumb over sicheng’s knuckles subconsciusly. “it’s a shame doyoung couldn’t come, no?” he muses, sicheng nodding. 

jaehyun chokes on the champagne he’s swallowing. “you met doyoung before this?” he asks, puzzled. 

“kun saw him at the supermarket yesterday and asked him to come. too bad he had something else to do,” sicheng hums. 

“did he mention what it was?” jaehyun tries his best not to sound too curious but judging from sicheng’s growing smirk, he’s doing a poor job. 

kun shakes his head, opting to dust a stray hair from sicheng’s suit. jaehyun raises his eyebrows. _weird_ , he thinks, _why does no one know what he’s up to? other than taeyong and yuta, at least._

suddenly, a loud pop resonates throughout the room. sicheng and kun give each other furtive looks and dash to the doors quickly, towards the source of the sound. what they find, is a silver-haired woman in her wheelchair smiling wildly, holding a bottle of expensive champagne that’s now gushing out of the bottle quickly. 

“kun! there you are! sicheng! it’s been a long time!” she shouts when she sees the couple. 

kun breaks out into a grin and goes forward to hug her. “it’s been too long, _po po_.” 

“damn right it has been,” she whispers into his ear, patting his back and eyes glistening a little.

* * *

doyoung finally arrives at the gates of the graveyard, exhaling loudly before stepping in. he walks along the familiar stone path before straying to the grass and walking to his two o’clock. 

“doyoung!” mr park calls from his resting place. “this time of the year again, eh?” 

doyoung nods, “yes, i’ve come to visit.” 

“you wouldn’t happen to have any smokes on you, buddy?” 

doyoung reaches into his coat pocket and throws a box of cigarettes to the old man, smiling. “i know you too well, ahjussi.” 

mr park just grins at him, lacking of teeth and gums prominent, and turns back to reading the paper. “just cleaned him last week, spotless and not a scratch,” he says, not looking at him. 

“thank you, ahjussi. merry christmas!” he wishes the old man and walks towards the gravestone he’s been acquainted with for so long. 

doyoung stops in front of the monotone, grey slab and squats down. he traces the carvings on it, smiling softly to himself. 

_lee hongmin_  
_1993-2007_

doyoung places the beautiful bouquet gently on the stone, careful not to move the offerings. “hongmin-ah,” he whispers. “it’s christmas, your favourite time of the year.” 

“i never really understood why you loved christmas so much. it’s just a glorified day where people spend more than enough money and submit to the capitalism agenda, nothing special. then again, i was always the skeptic between the two of us.” 

doyoung sits down on the grass, wincing a little when his butt tingles against the cold. “i still miss you, you know? there’s not a day that goes by without me thinking about you. it’s better for me now, you’re a memory now, a piece of my life that i’ll cherish forever.” 

“i got a job. at neo culture technology. shocking, i know. clumsy, technology inept doyoung getting a job at a gaming company? a miracle! my boss is nice, he’s a bit of an arse, but he’s got some issues in his past. almost like me, actually.” doyoung chuckles dryly. 

“dr byun says i’m better now. my anxiety’s still there, of course, but i’ve gotten a lot better at coping with it. i haven’t scratched my arm in weeks! the meds are a bitch to take, duh, but they help, just a little. just enough.” 

“hongmin-ah, i wish you were here. i’d tell you all about my infuriating boss, about taeyong and yuta, how they’re still so cheesy with each other. they miss you too, y’know? they wanted to come today, but they had a friend’s engagement party to go to. i told them you would understand. i know you would. you’ve always been the most forgiving one between us all.” 

“if you hadn’t done _it_ back then, maybe we’d be together now, under the mistletoe. i still think about the possibilities, what we could have been. obviously, i don’t blame you. fuck, the world was evil back then, they couldn’t accept us for who we are.” 

“it’s better now, of course. america legalised same-sex marriage couple years back, kinda impressive for such an oppressive country. thailand might be the first asian country to do so too. almost everyone big in the corporate world belongs to the lgbtq+ community now.” 

“hongmin-ah, i still love you, so much. i’ll never stop loving you. but at the same time, i’ve moved on. you’ll always hold a piece of my heart, you know that? you taught me how to love, and i am forever grateful for that.” 

doyoung looks up to the sky, “i love you, you dipshit. hope you’re still playing basketball up there like you used to.” 

the snow swirls prettily in the graveyard. the wind has died down now, settling into a gentle breeze that sways the bare branches. doyoung stands up from where he is, and reaches down to pat the snow off hongmin’s gravestone. he presses a kiss from his lips to his fingers, resting them on the head of the stone. 

“goodbye, hongmin-ah. merry christmas,” doyoung smiles one last time and walks away. 

doyoung bids mr park goodbye before leaving the graveyard gates, walking towards his apartment. he needs a cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows now, exhausted at the end of the day. there’s barely any cars on the road, only a stray car driving by on the snow-covered roads slowly. 

the warm, yellow lights given out by the streetlamps follow him home, and he feels a little better. maybe he isn’t so alone on such a merry christmas after all.

* * *

that night, doyoung finds himself sprawled on the couch, wrapped in multiple layers of fluffy blankets and hands gripping a bowl of popcorn. taeyong and yuta are cuddled on the couch beside him, envelopes in each other’s arm. doyoung silently whines at the display of affection. 

they’re well into home alone when doyoung’s phone chimes, and he startles. who would text him on christmas night? 

_from : jaehyun_  
_hey_  
_you okay today?_  
_why didn’t you go to kun’s party?_  
_just asking_

doyoung smiles, a little touched by his boss’ concern. something in his heart warms a little, and he feels a bit jittery, the good kind. he convinces himself jaehyun is just curious. 

_to : jaehyun_  
_hi!_  
_i was just hanging out w/ a kid from home today, nth much_  
_his name is jeno and he’s 19 rn!_  
_wbu?_

_from : jaehyun_  
_”wbu?”_  
_what’s that?_  
_is it a sports brand?_

doyoung can’t help but let out a small giggle, and he smiles. so jung jaehyun doesn’t know modern internet slang, huh? guess the ceo finally has a weakness. 

“what’s so funny?” taeyong asks, turning his head towards him, cocking an eyebrow. 

doyoung shakes his head, gesturing to his phone. “just texting a friend,” he says, without thinking much. 

he stops in his tracks. friends? doyoung supposes they’re friends, on basic terms. they talk outside work, drop honorifics, are texting each other casually now, and jaehyun buys him food. that qualifies as friends the very least, right? 

taeyong just nods and goes back to watching the movie. doyoung goes back to his phone, texting back a reply. 

_to : jaehyun_  
_it’s an acronym hehe_  
_”what about you?”_

jaehyun replies, fast. 

_from : jaehyun_  
_oh_  
_never knew that_  
_i was at sicheng’s engagement party and met taeyong-ssi and yuta-ssi_

_to : jaehyun_  
_oh, that’s nice!!_

doyoung locks his phone after that, muting it to focus on the movie instead.

* * *

jaehyun is convinced doyoung is lying right through his teeth, or in the case, his keyboard, but his curiousity has to remain unsatisfied for now. 

if doyoung really just visited a kid from his hometown, why the suspicious looks yuta and taeyong shot each other? why the everlasting mystery on his whereabouts? 

jaehyun shakes his head. he should really stop thinking about his assistant. they’re just friends, anyways. barely even that, he thinks. they’ve only spoken to each other outside of work a few times, mostly out of boredom. sure, they’ve dropped honorifics occasionally, but it’s just that. nothing else. 

yet, jaehyun can’t deny the feeling of butterflies in his stomach whenever he sees doyoung in his office, working. the latter looks incredibly serious in his work, face always tense and focused. jaehyun has half the mind to talk to him sometimes, but he’s too fixated on admiring doyoung’s face, how his nose slopes prettily, how even his cupid’s bow is so elegant, how his eyes are always so bri- 

_jaehyun, no._

jaehyun groans and covers his face with his hands. no catching feelings for his assistant, not ever. strictly business, and only friends. just that, he tells himself. keep everything in your pants and heart, no acting on your stupid emotions. 

_after all, you’ve hurt enough of the people you care about before._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope it wasn’t too unrealistic. criticise me in the comments if i’ve written anything wrongly. i know the world now still isn’t accepting, and the corporate world part is unrealistic, but it’s a wish, a dream, so i’ve put that in.

**Author's Note:**

> leave a comment uwu i like reading them ❤️
> 
>  
> 
> [twitter!](http://twitter.com/yukhords)  
> [curiouscat!](http://curiouscat.me/yukhords)


End file.
